In the past weeks I have been involved in some enjoyable conversations about area family-owned businesses, from the well-established ones to those recently opened or getting ready to open. 
As a young boy, the ability to walk a block down Madison Avenue and present a list to the wonderful folks at Heath’s Grocery was fun. I can still envision the inside of that grocery store. Neal, the butcher, was always behind the meat counter.

 My dad enjoyed jowl bacon as part of his hardy breakfast before leaving for his daily milk route. I was often dispatched to Heath’s for a couple of pounds of jowl bacon.
Most of the businesses that we shopped at were family-owned. I bet if you sit back and recall your formative days, you will remember the small businesses that served your neighborhood. Many of those businesses and people still serve our community. 

Last week, on the front page of this locally owned newspaper was not one, not two, but three articles about just the sort of people I have been talking about.
I used to be in a business club with Mike Heimel, who owns Heimel Auction Service in Beech Grove and was recently inducted into the Indiana Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame. Not only do I know and like Mike, my therapy dog, Stuart, and his dog, Maggie are canine friends.

Ray Skillman is the owner of Skillman Auto Group. His business is on a much larger scale, but he is a big part of our Southside life. His company just pledged $500,000 to help renovate UIndy’s Nicoson Hall. I think that (among many other things) qualifies him as a good neighbor and a good businessman. (Stuart is interested in meeting his dog, which appears in some of the company’s television commercials.)

Drs. Robert Kopecky and John Deever operated their office on Shelby Street for more than 30 years. I remember having a terrible pain in my lower stomach one day while playing basketball. I believe I was in the fourth grade. When the pain didn’t get better, my mom called Dr. Kopecky, who soon arrived at our house. He sent me to St. Francis Hospital, where the next thing I remember was recovering from a double appendectomy. I also recall being given special care because I had two infected appendixes. Thank you, Dr. Kopecky.

I’m always excited to see local folks open new businesses. Karla Richardson and her family have joined forces with Mike Jarvis and his family to open The Whistle Stop Ice Cream and More Shop on Main Street in Beech Grove. I worked with Karla at the transportation department of Beech Grove Schools. I know Mike from the Beech Grove Historical Society, of which he serves as president.

The husband-and-wife team of Nick and Stephanie Alford and some of their friends and/or family members are close to opening D’s Taps on Main Street in Beech Grove. The bar will feature local beers and wines. 
A while back there was a day known as Small Business Saturday. I think we should visit and shop in our local businesses EVERY DAY.

I hope all small-business owners consider participating in The Southsider Voice’s “Family Business Album,” which will be published Feb. 4. The deadline to be included is Friday.

During a break at the recent meeting of the Beech Grove Historical Society, I chatted with Dick Templin about his great-grandfather Thomas Reno, whom Templin thought was once the town marshal of Southport.
I explained to Dick that I would ask some of the Southport/Perry Township Historical Society officers if there are any records that might confirm or deny his thoughts.
As Dick and I chatted, I recalled a previous marshal of Southport. I don’t remember his name, but he lived on Union Street (known as Southport Road outside of the city limits). My father’s Sunoco station serviced all of Davidson’s Lumber Co. company trucks on weekends. We also had other customers, including the town marshal, who drove a full-size Chevy with a red light and a siren.  

One evening when I was on duty, the marshal pulled in and explained that his car needed some repairs. He also told me that he was going to leave the car and needed a ride home. That posed a problem because the other fellow working with me was away in our service truck and would be gone for a while.
The marshal asked me if he could use my car to drive himself home, but I wasn’t a big fan of that idea. I also wasn’t keen on him hanging around with me at the station, so I handed him my car keys and explained that we closed at 10 p.m.

I got busy making the repairs to his car and with my other duties. When closing time rolled around, there was no marshal. I phoned the marshal’s house and got no answer. I got in his patrol car and drove his residence, but no one was there, and my car was not in sight. I sat in front of his house for a few minutes while devising a plan.

Since I thought I would look impressive driving the marshal’s car, I decided to head to the Tee Pee Restaurant for something to eat and to hang out with friends. I cruised through the parking lot several times, much to the amazement of my friends. Those who didn’t know me very well were asking my friends why was I driving a police car. I was attracting quite a bit of attention, especially the off-duty officers who worked at the Tee Pee.
I decided that I had pressed my luck far enough. I hopped into the marshal’s car and drove back to our station. I locked it in the garage and drove our service truck home. As I remember, the marshal showed up the next morning with my car. He told me that he showed up late at the station and that his car wasn’t there.
I explained that I had driven it to his house and we must have passed on the road. I don’t think he bought my story, but he was the guy who wasn’t back to pick up his car on time.
It was a fun evening ... and I didn’t even pull anyone over.

Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools. 

About a month ago I wrote a column about my 1956 Thunderbird. Some of my buddies and fellow workers from that era have assisted me in remembering a couple of other adventures that involved that classy automobile. It’s time to share another one.
During the time that I owned that vehicle, my father operated the Sunoco station on Madison Avenue in the Edgewood area. Since we had experienced a couple of overnight burglaries, Dad was advised to install an alarm system.

He decided on one that was offered by the telephone company. A private telephone line was installed from the station directly to our house. An open microphone was installed at the station and a speaker at our house. At bedtime the connection was opened so Dad could hear any noises that emanated from the station.
It took our family a while to get acquainted with the sounds coming from the speaker. Sometimes it was a long night if one of us forgot to unplug the loud bell that alerted us when someone drove up to the gas pumps or shut off the air compressor.

One night I was awakened by Dad running through the house yelling that someone had broken a window at the station and was robbing it. He got dressed, jumped into his car and headed to the station.
I figured he would surely need my help. I pulled on some clothing, jumped into my Thunderbird and was hot on his trail. I was traveling west on Banta and flew across the railroad tracks as I was approaching Madison. I made a fast right turn onto Madison and headed north. My little T-Bird was purring nicely.
Just then, red lights started flashing on a car that I pulled out in front of; it was a Marion County sheriff’s deputy. I showed him my license and tried to explain what was going on.

He told me to get into his car so he could check out my story. Upon arriving at the station, my father was standing beside his car, and his double-barreled shotgun was laying across the hood. 
The deputy and I saw that a window in one of the overhead doors was shattered. Dad started explaining what was going on. He was excited and talking fast.

When the deputy had a chance to speak, he told my dad that I had already explained all of that to him. Dad asked him where he had encountered me, and the deputy said I was sitting in the passenger seat of his car.
When Dad stepped closer and leaned down to look inside the deputy’s car, he had the gun in his hand and forgot proper shotgun etiquette. As the gun became pointed at the deputy, shouting began. But things quickly calmed down. Apologies were offered and accepted. 

We discovered that the station had been robbed again. Dad and I boarded up the broken window, and he drove me back to get my car.
After we reviewed the events of that evening, some changes were made to our modus operandi. A call to the sheriff’s office would be the first action taken when we heard glass breaking.

Those were the days. …
Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools. 

We have the opportunity to attend some outstanding college basketball games over the next few months, including those played by the Marian Knights, who are coached by Beech Grove High School graduate Katie Geralds. 

The school is proud of their former student and basketball prodigy. It seems like just a couple of years ago that I was watching Katie play high school games. The Hornets had a tremendous following during her senior year, when they were crowned 3A state champions.

She was named Miss Basketball and played in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association High School All-American Game and was the MVP in the McDonald’s All-American Game. 
Katie attended Purdue and averaged almost 15 points per game while pulling down about four rebounds and dishing out three assists per contest. She won several honors, and the team went 103-30 during her time there.

I remember surprising Katie during Christmas break one season when the Boilermakers were playing the University of Texas in Austin. Since my wife, Lyn, and I were going to be in the Lone Star State to visit family and friends, six of us had planned to attend the game. I had purchased six orange Beech Grove T-shirts for us to wear, and you should have seen the surprised look on Katie’s face when she saw me courtside. She was really shocked to see five more fans clad in orange shirts in the balcony.

Katie was drafted by the WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2007 and played for several years. It was always fun to attend an Indiana Fever game when Seattle was in town. She also played for several countries overseas.
Named the Knights’ coach in July 2013, she wasted no time in building her program. I was excited to learn that she was going to coach in our city and could hardly wait for the season to tip off. I attended a few games and was impressed to see that Marian’s play mirrored the way that Katie had played throughout her career.

The Knights, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics team that competes in the Crossroads Conference, finished with a 16-16 record. I believe there were only one or two seniors on the team. It looked to me like a wonderful first season, and I’m sure everyone at Marian was anxious for the 2014-15 campaign to arrive.

Well, the team is undefeated at home and 14-2 after losing to No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan 75-61 on Saturday. I attended Marian’s game against Indiana Tech, and the Knights looked impressive in their 91-50 win. Katie’s team played to a high level, and regardless of the five players on the court, the team played wonderful.

The team just returned from South Florida, where it won a two- game classic. The Knights’ upcoming home games are against Bethel at 1 p.m. Saturday, Spring Arbor at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, and Huntington at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24. College athletes are amazing. I can’t imagine practicing and playing games while keeping up a full academic schedule.

Now that I have hopefully piqued your interest in Marian’s team, here’s a challenge: How about if we attend the next three home games. Let’s fill some seats and support Katie’s team. I’m sure you will have a blast. This exciting team has scored more 100 points three times this season. 
Make some plans.