60 Years Ago This Week - 1961
The starting pay for Indianapolis firefighters was $1.40 an hour, and they worked 63 hours a week.    
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The Bell-Aire Drive-in Theatre at Kentucky and Tibbs avenue was showcasing a triple feature: “Black Sunday,” “The Last Rebel” and “The Hand”; admission was 75 cents.

50 Years Ago This Week - 1971

​Rhonda L. Hill (third from left), daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Hill was crowned Miss Mini Queen for Southern Plaza’s 10th anniversary celebration.  

Southport teacher (from left) Evelyn M. Lovelace and area students Tim Riggs, Jeff Hoffmeister, Brian Brandley and Gregg Backemeyer were mapping out their trip to Kenya, Africa, where they would participate in a studies abroad program. 

​40 Years Ago This Week - 1981
The Indianapolis Department of Public Works was interviewing for positions at its new wastewater treatment plant. The salaries ranged from $9,000 to $29,000 annually. 
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Southport senior basketball standout Linda Mallendar, who was bound for Miami of Ohio University on a scholarship, was named to Adidas’ All-American team. 
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Mike Chupp, a student at Baptist High, was named an Eisenhower Scholar and received a $10,000 scholarship. 
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Cigarettes were 70 cents a pack.

30 Years Ago This Week - 1991
Bob and Margaret Ann Hillan wrote a letter to the editor to voice their concern over increased theft on the Southside. Someone had swiped their figurines, “Tucker,” a flag-waving lad, and “Mother Goose.”
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Ponderosa served a strip steak dinner and a sundae special for $4.79. 

Perry Meridian High School’s Brain Game team defeated Franklin Central 78-56 to win the state title. The squad featured (kneeling) Andy Wilson, Aaron Kemple; (standing) Trevor Grove, coach Mrs. Karty, Clifford Leslie, coach Mrs. Brown and Jim Hauser.

​20 Years Ago This Week - 2001
A fire at Sacred Heart Church destroyed the altar, and water and smoke damage was evident through the historic structure. The damage was estimated at more than $1 million.
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Emmaus Lutheran School seventh-grader Matt Muncy won a $50 savings bond for winning the district competition in the RespectTeen program, which allowed students to voice their opinions in writing on any issue to their U.S. representatives.
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At 656 feet long and topping out at 21 mph, Kombo, the city’s only roller coaster, was up and running at the Indianapolis Zoo. 
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Butler graduate and dentist Mark Bohnert received the university’s Catharine Merrill Graydon Alumni Award, presented for outstanding community service.
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Roncalli pitcher Christy Utnage delivered a fastball in a game against Carmel; the Rebels won 4-3.

​10 Years Ago This Week - 2011
Kent John was a candidate for Indianapolis’ City-County Council District 23.
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Roncalli juniors Casey Corsaro and Katey Blackwell earned first- and second-place honors, respectively, in the Holy Cross Family Ministries Try Prayer! It Works essay contest.
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Located at 1110 Prospect St., Square Rootz was a unique deli that served distinctive sandwiches and sold records, compact discs and artwork.

60 Years Ago This Week - 1961
Every customer who placed a $2 dry-cleaning order at Minnesota Alteration Service and Cleaning, 1704 Minnesota St., received a free six-pack of Coca-Cola. 
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Look what $1.81 bought at Kroger during its grand opening in Southern Plaza: two half-gallons of milk, two heads of lettuce, a pound of ham, two bottles of ketchup and 5 pounds of sugar.

50 Years Ago This Week - 1971
Kathy Walter and Phil Hotle were among the junior winners in a piano competition at Indiana Central College.
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A brand-new and fully loaded Mercury Marquis Brougham was advertised for $4,784.
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The Perry Perkers Homemakers Club met at the home of Mrs. Thomas Bowman. 

40 Years Ago This Week - 1981
St. Roch students Todd Cunningham, Barb Schmall, Jill Lucid, Jimmy Pinna, Jennifer Brown, Steve Welch, Dana Brancheau and Denise Schafer were promoting their school’s annual open house. 
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Julie Breeden and Tim Burke were named drum majors for Southport High School’s marching band.
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Faith Fellowship Baptist Church broke ground for its worship center in Greenwood. On hand for the spadework were Cliff Connerly, Pastor Ed Schaefer, Bob Rollings and Don Jones.
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Marien Pro Hardware, 3604 Madison Ave., was holding its annual spring sale.

30 Years Ago This Week - 1991

Manual High School honored William R. Kniptash as its Alumnus of the Year.
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Airmen Norman L. Nevins II and William F. Stewart  Jr. graduated from Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. 
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The Rev. Fred B. Oaks was installed as pastor at Southport Baptist Church.

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 Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Phil Ochs served as master of ceremonies for the dedication of Fire Station 29, 602 E. Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. 

20 Years Ago This Week - 2001

Kate Kiefer-Andrew, daughter of Jim and Karen Kiefer and a graduate of St. Roch School and Roncalli, made the dean’s list at IUPUI.
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William Bryan was appointed to fill the vacated seat on the Perry Township School Board. 
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Tom and Shelia Lauck and their children, Matt and Liz, opened Blimpie Subs & Salads at 5905 Madison Ave.

10 Years Ago This Week - 2011

The Blue Lonesome Bluegrass band, featuring Joe Davidson, Dolly Mae Bradshaw, Hank Cawthorne and Natalie Grimes, played monthly at the Southport Community Center.
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Sister Sharon Bierman, administrator of St. Paul Hermitage in Beech Grove, presented Ave Maria Guild President Vicki Spicuzza with a Certificate of Appreciation for her service to the nursing home. 
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Featuring intricate routines combined with acrobatic moves choreographed to music, the Indy Air Bears jump rope team performed at Franklin Central High School.

Claudia Cessna, the 16-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Cessna, was crowned Miss Southern Plaza and reigned over the shopping center’s grand opening.
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Rose bushes cost 57 cents; room and board was available for $18 a week; a nice seven-room house rented for $85 a month; and a 7-year-old Oldsmobile was priced at $295.

50 Years Ago This Week - 1971
Publisher George Cafouros penned an editorial condemning boys and girls for wearing long and wild hair. In part it read: “Are they just doing this to get attention? And did you ever stop to consider how much energy they spend brushing hair out of their eyes?”
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Bridge classes were offered at the Bluff Recreation & Culture Center, 555 W. Hanna Ave.
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Riverside Park held its annual kite-flying contest.

40 Years Ago This Week - 1981

Carburetor Exchange, 1302 Shelby St., opened a new “service bay” when Dellen Whittaker plowed his car through the building. Neither he nor any employees were seriously injured. 
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Fireside South Restaurant owner Andy Hohlt, right, spearheaded the annual Easter egg hunt at Garfield Park, where an estimated 2,000 children canvassed the grounds in search of edible delights.
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A three-bedroom split-level home in Holly Hills was listed for $56,000, and a spacious four-bedroom home in Hill Valley was advertised for $70,900. 
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​St. Jude Grade School wrestlers (from left) Bill Mappes, Mike Simzisko, Chris Maxwell, Doug McAllen, Pat Bender and Gary Roembke took first-place honors in the Catholic Youth Organization’s city tournament.
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Risch Greenhouse, 5540 S. Old Meridian St., was hosting its annual open house. The staff included (front) Hazel Risch, Ann Marsh, Leah and Carl Risch, Joe, Danette and Anna Marie March, Carl and Betty Risch; (back) Cathie Holman, Mayme Risch, Harold Stacy and Adam Kreuzman. 

30 Years Ago This Week - 1991
Cases (24 12-ounce cans) of Miller and Coors Lite, Budweiser and Old Style cost $9.98 at Dinner Bell Markets.
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Dee Dee Scott, Sheila Grubbs and Bonnie Bernard joined the staff of Ameri-Cuts Hairstyling.
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Amanda Titsworth, a nurse at St. Francis Hospital, was honored with the medical center’s April Family Spirit Award, presented for a caring attitude that exceeded expectations.
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​Students and faculty from Manual planted trees in the school’s inner courtyard. The participants were (front) Angela Williams, Toni Jessie, KC McCombs, Joyce Cook, Renee Berry, Jim Maschmeyer, Brad Key, Brian Ganstine; (back) Dennis Jackson, Doug Church, Mike Robinson, Jim Maschmeyer and Sarah Bogard. 
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20 Years Ago This Week - 2001
This issue is missing from the archives.

10 Years Ago This Week - 2011

​Beech Grove student Tiea Tuqul was selected to join the National Honor Society of High School Honors.
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Gray Park, a diamond in the rough near Southport Road and Sherman Drive, was receiving some care. The 8-acre park, home to a beaver dam, an occasional heron and other wildlife, would soon sport some walking trails and a picnic area.
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Sarah Knisely-King was named director of emergency services at Community Hospital South.

60 Years Ago This Week - 1961
This issue is missing from the archives.    
  
50 Years Ago This Week - 1971
The South Side Exchange Club celebrated its 20th anniversary, having donated more than $146,000 to charities over the years. Charter members were Joe Bryan, Urban “Duke” Renner, J. Wesley Brown, Ernie Gates, Cecil Hurt, Frank Scharfe, Clyde Hurley, Wallace Whitman, Bob Morris, Harold Joergens and Allen Campbell.
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Southport junior Gerald Tyra, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Tyra, took first-place honors in a regional science fair.
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Michael W. Boerke was elected to a three-year term on the Indiana Mental Health Association’s board of directors.
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Southport foreign language teacher Joan McIlroy was named to chaperone a group of students who would study in France over the summer.  

40 Years Ago This Week - 1981

​Kelly Newkirk (from left), Terry Thomas and Jeanne Stack each sold more than 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to earn a trip to Washington, D.C.
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Residents on West Southern Avenue complained of a daily stench in the air, and they were blaming it on the Citizens Gas & Coke Utility plant on East Prospect Street. 
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Issues surrounding the construction of Indianapolis’ yet-to-be-named domed stadium were highlighted on Channel 13.
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Julip, the miniature donkey owned by Jim and Dee Caldwell, was going to lead the Palm Sunday procession at Southport United Methodist. 
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The Pizza Barn, 3940 S. Keystone Ave., celebrated its grand opening.

30 Years Ago This Week - 1991
Perry Meridian High School’s Brain Game team advanced to the finals of Channel 8’s tournament. The squad featured Jim Howsery, Aaron Kemple, Clifford Leslie and Andy Wilson.
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Perry Meridian’s Students of the Month for March were Sarah Pierson, Jennifer Isenberg, Amy Roodvoets and Lesley Amerman.
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Rick Stephenson was promoted to co-manager of the Marsh Supermarket on Albany Street in Beech Grove.
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Southport senior Marc Boone achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor attainable in Scouting.


20 Years Ago This Week - 2001
This issue is also missing from the archives.

10 Years Ago This Week - 2011

​The Gaslight Inn, owned by Joe DeMore (left) and Art Kirkpatrick and located at 2280 S. Meridian St., was featured on an episode of Biography’s “My Ghost Story.” The pub, frequented by renowned bank robber John Dillinger in the 1920s, was rumored to be haunted, having once served as a morgue.
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​Boyden’s Bakery, 3953 S. Meridian St., celebrated its 79th anniversary. The first Boyden store opened in 1932 on New York Street, and there were nine across the city in the 1940s and ‘50s. Owned by fourth-generation baker Paula Boyden, right, the Southside site was the lone remaining store.    
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American English, a Beatles tribute band, appeared at Southport High School.