February 2021
Devastation

April of 1974 brought one of the nation’s worst tornado outbreaks through the southern part of Pulaski County, including Van Buren Township. Traveling in a path that never lifted off the ground from west of Monticello, the tornado hit the Thornhope area and then traveled north and east to strike Rochester. It just kept going in a one-mile-wide path of destruction.
Seeking Volunteer Curator
We are looking for a volunteer curator - or a couple of people that would like to serve as co-curators - for our historical museum.

The curator is a key member of our team and would also be a member of the Historical Society Board of Director's Executive Committee.

If you are interested, please submit an application!
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Annual Meeting & Program
THURSDAY, MARCH 18TH, 6:00 PM

The Old Mercantile Building
5612 S Main Street in Pulaski, at the corner by the bridge

Bring Your Own Meal / Snack / Drink. We'll have cookies and hot drinks.

Annually, the Pulaski County Historical Society meets to organize for the upcoming year and to provide a program of historic interest to the community.

This year, the program will be provided by Paul and Brenda Gilsinger, owners of PJ Gilsinger & Co., a museum dedicated to their John Deere business and heritage in Pulaski County. The museum opened its doors to the community in 2018 and features items from the family’s John Deere business.

Brenda Gilsinger has done an extensive amount of research into her family’s ancestry and history and in the history of local towns and institutions. We sincerely hope that residents of the area and members of local churches plan to attend.

Also, we may hear something about her family’s history, which, coincidentally, dovetails with the history of this newsletter’s editor. (!)

You’ll be very close to Bill & Babe's, a Pulaski institution since 1954. Stop for supper before, pick up carry-out to bring with you to the meeting, or stop in to visit after.

Join us AT THE OLD MERCANTILE BUILDING BY THE BRIDGE on Wednesday, March 18, and step back in time to a long-ago way of life. Come by 6:00. We'll meet, get settled to eat and visit. We'll hold a short membership meeting to vote on officers at 6:30. The program will start right after.
DON'T WANT TO GET OUT? JOIN US ON ZOOM!
Make sure to have your preferred snack, meal and drinks and enjoy our program! We'll start our Zoom at 6:15. Join us at this link (we'll send a reminder email closer to the meeting).
Meeting ID: 882 9900 0449
Passcode: 692981
Dial by your location
 +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
We rely on our members to keep us going, and because we do, our membership letter includes a list of all of the ways in which we accomplished our mission the year before.

2020 was probably not the best year for the Pulaski County Historical Society in a number of ways, but in others, it was outstanding. Please take this list in the manner in which it is intended, with a grain of salt (add lemon and tequila if you have a mind), and with a sincere request that you join or renew your membership.

  • The Museum was open Saturdays in January and February. While we are closed, we are changing out the exhibits. You will probably expect fireworks and an IMAX movie theater when we open. You will be disappointed.
  • Due to a changing family situation, we lost our Curator. We're still looking for her.
  • We gained the 50% match needed from community contributions to apply for a grant to restore the west storefont and the main doors of the Opera House. We then sold the Opera House and gave the money back. (Congratulations to Mike & Jenny Kasten who have added the Celebration Station to their cadre of businesses!) (And congratulations to US!)
  • We scheduled a fantastic Annual Program in Pulaski with Paul and Brenda Gilsinger. Luckily, when we cancelled, we didn't have to give any money back.
  • Mid-year, we went "digital" with our newsletters. The good news, for us, is that we are able to send monthly emails. The bad news, for you, is that we are able to send monthly emails.
  • We added an interesting page to our website, called You Are Here. If you find yourself lost in this COVID period, take a look at this page and find yourself again.
  • We received a grant from Indiana Humanities for a three-part workshop on How To Research The History Of Your Old House. We haven't advertised it yet, because ... we haven't advertised it yet. Indiana Humanities is hanging in there with us and we hope to schedule it later this year.

As noted above, please consider joining or renewing your membership, so you can travel these rocky roads with us!
Individual $30
Family $40
Corporate or Sustaining $80
Send a check, made out to Pulaski County Historical Society, PO Box 135, Winamac, or go to the website to pay online.
The following slate of officers and board members has been presented for 2021. Voting will take place at the Annual Program. nominations will be accepted from the floor.
Officers

President: Ryan Harrison
Vice President: Kathi Thompson
Secretary: Janet Onken
Treasurer: Lin Morrison
Terms Ending 2024:

Brian Capouch
Karen Fritz
Judge Michael Shurn

Term Ending 2022:
Looking For Someone Outstanding
From Our New County Historian
I would like to start by saying thank you to the Pulaski County Historical Society for nominating me for this position. It is an honor to be appointed the County Historian and I look forward to many upcoming opportunities that this position will give me. I want to wish our outgoing county historian, Karen Fritz, with much luck in her future endeavors with the society and other historical opportunities.

I will admit when I was in school, history wasn’t something that interested me. That is until I had a history teacher in high school that went off the regular dates and textbooks and started telling us little side facts that made history more real. All of the sudden history was fun. In the 90’S, Chris Smith invited me to a historical society meeting and I’ve been involved one way or another since then. During that time, I became interested in family history and I was able to help my in-laws with my research and their farm was registered with the state as a Hoosier Homestead in 1999. I’m still working away on family history, which is fascinating.

Something else that I became interested in is participating in history with my son. He had always been interested in history and his second grade teacher and the librarian at the school fueled that interest. Then, when he was in the 4th grade, his teacher introduced him to a form of “live” history by setting up little scenarios in his classroom, such as the north vs. the South. This just fueled his love of history even more. During this time, the Indiana Historical Society had a junior society that kids in grades 4 and up could be a part of. We started a group here and for a few years we enjoyed a few programs and local field trips. The junior society eventually closed down at the state level and our little group got older. That being said, I have always wanted to restart a group and one of the things that is available for youngsters is the National History Day.

National History Day in Indiana is available for students in grades four through 12 that research and present a project on a historical topic that fits under the annual theme. Regional competitions are held throughout the state, finalists from these competitions go on to the state competition, where winners can proceed to National Competition.
Students in this competition develop a thesis around the annual topic, research this topic and then present a project. These projects run anywhere from poster displays to skits and videos. They can do this independently or collaboratively with a couple students.

This year’s competition is already in progress, so hopefully in 2022 we can get a few students interested in this program. 

Mary Conner

PS If you want to contact me, do so HERE.
Join NHDI State Coordinator, Jonnie Fox, as she takes you through new National History Day rules and the judging process for virtual contests. Go HERE for more information.
Lending A Helping Hand
A Poem By Willard C. Myers
From The Francesville Tribune July 13, 1972, Written January 1, 1971

This is a continuation of the poem, begun in the Newsletter dated June 2020. You can find past editions of the Newsletter HERE.

Stanzas 25 - 28
I see Cy Ball and Stevie Reese
Gonna have a fight uptown,
But then, Bill White, the Marshall,
Stepped in and cooled them down.

Warren Morgan played the 'big bass drum'
In the band of Francesville:
Tom Tomlinson played the 'tuba'
And hearing them was quite a thrill.
Twenty men made up the Francesville Band
People came from miles around
To hear them play Band Concert night,
Their music filled the town.

I see 'thirty' veterans marching
That fought the Civil War,
But that's a sight you'll never see
In Francesville no more.
Willard C. Myers is connected to the town of Francesville through birth and remaining family. We will continue to feature this poem until we have offered it to completion. Natives will probably recognize many of the people and places that will be mentioned.
Donate To Save History
A Gift That Keeps Giving

For the persons on your gift list that have everything they need, or for those who value history, make a contribution to the Historical Society in their name. We'll email a certificate that you can print and place in a stocking. (See a sample below!)

Find a convenient way to do that here.
The quick and easy way to make a contribution to the Historical Society is to utilize this QR code.

We're trying to drag history into the 21st Century!

Thank you for considering this opportunity!
Saving Places That Enrich Lives
Indiana Landmarks

In addition to giving tremendous financial and technical support for the local Courthouse project, Indiana Landmarks provides a wealth of information about and support for vintage homes and factories, churches, barns and bridges.
Support Indiana Landmarks. Join to help save the historic places that make our communities more beautiful, more interesting, singular and special. LINK
Pulaski County Historical Society
President: Ryan Harrison
Vice President (& Past President): Kathi Thompson
Secretary (& Genealogist): Janet Onken
Treasurer: Lin Morrison
Curator: Dr. Natalie Tucker
Historian: Karen Fritz
Terms Ending 2021:
  • Brian Capouch
  • Ryan Crawford
  • Judge Michael Shurn
Terms Ending 2022:
  • Sara Kroft
  • Jolie Simmermaker
  • Vacancy
Terms Ending 2023
  • Mary Conner
  • Becky Dilts
  • Steve Morrison
Membership

$30 Individual
$40 Family
$80 Sustaining / Corporate
If someone shared this email with you, you may not be on our email list. Just click the button. On the website, fill out the form, and BOOM! You'll be a part of history!
Contributors to this edition: Janet Onken, Kathi Thompson, Mary Conner
If you enjoyed this email, please forward it to family and friends.
To submit an article for consideration for this newsletter, send it via email. If you have photos, please submit them as well. We welcome all articles of historic interest regarding Pulaski County.