60 Years Ago This Week — 1963
A special showing of the new 1964 Fords was held at Southern Plaza, which served as the starting point for an antique auto cruise to Bloomington.
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Mr. M. Trickle and Mr. H. McIntosh opened M&M Shell service station, 4840 S. Meridian St. Anyone who purchased 8 gallons of gas got a set of four glasses.
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Children attending Perry East Junior High had to get their parents’ consent to watch “Human Growth and Body Production,” which was shown by the Social Health Association of Indianapolis.
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A miscalculation by the kitchen staff at Meridian Bar, 2536 S. Meridian St., resulted in the tavern running out of turtle soup.

50 Years Ago This Week — 1973

The Lollipop Man, known for passing out suckers to good children, is seen with (from left) Chip Garver, Max Green, Kathy Garver, Jon Bertram, Kurt Meyer, Fran Tomlin and Scott Hubbard.
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An eight-room duplex was listed for $3,500.
* * *
The Marion County Fairgrounds advertised that its auction, flea market and garage sale would feature more than 24,000 items.
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Dr. D.W. Johnson, a chiropractor who practiced out of the Winchester Professional Centre at 8220 Madison Ave., installed an X-Ray machine at his office. The Southport High School and Indiana University graduate was assisted by Lee Morgan. 
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Perry Meridian was preparing for its “forthcoming” festivities instead of a homecoming gala because the school was in the first year of its existence. The event sported the theme of “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

40 Years Ago This Week — 1983
Kris Schubach and Andy Herbertz were elected co-presidents of Roncalli’s student council. Sue Hillan was the secretary, and Jeanette was treasurer.
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Bob “Harmonica Bob” Herndon performed at Southport Christian Church.
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The Iowa Street Block Club hosted a lasagna dinner, which was prepared by Dave Page of LaScala’s Restaurant.
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McClarney’s Famous Restaurant and Lounge on West Morris Street celebrated its 55th anniversary.

30 Years Ago This Week — 1993
The city’s leaf collection program took a U-turn. Instead of having residents drop off leaves at parks like they did last year — which was disastrous because more than leaves were dumped at the sites — leaves were to be bagged for curbside recycling.
* * *  
Perry Meridian’s lady golfers took first-place honors in the Central Suburban Conference tourney. Coached by Greg Harveth, the squad consisted of Cherie Yeager, Erica Quebe, Kelly Keeney, Stefanie Brown and Natasha Brewer.
* * *
Southport High School launched its centennial celebration.
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Roncalli graduate Rachel Litz, daughter of Margie and Roland Litz, was named to the cheerleading squad at Ball State University.
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Robert Marshall and Miller Ensminger were presented Volunteer Awards from Mayor Stephen Goldsmith.

20 Years Ago This Week — 2003

Rex M. Joseph Jr. was named to the State Bar Association’s General Practice Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Carol, were graduates of Southport High School. (Louie Dampier, a fellow Cardinal who went on to become the all-time leading scorer in the American Basketball Association, was the best man at their wedding.)
* * *
Center Grove High School senior Brett Perry was named Male Dancer of the Year at the American Dance Awards national convention in New York City.
* * *
University of Indianapolis quarterback Matt Kohn set an NCAA Division II record for passing yards (645) while throwing six touchdown strikes in the Greyhounds’ 58-52 overtime win over Michigan Tech.
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Nearly 3,500 Boy Scouts tested their survival skills during a camporee at Johnson County Park.
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Chuck Stumpf Jr., a former member of the Perry Township Board of Education, received a Volunteer Award from Mayor Bart Peterson. Stumpf and his wife, Georgia, were Southport grads.


10 Years Ago This Week — 2013
Kurt Ebert was installed as associate pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church.
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Southport High School’s Class of 1983 held its 30-year reunion. Those enjoying the festivities were (top, from left) Don and Jeri-Lynn Frost Line, Shawn and Chris Cross and Kris Moeller Ritter; (below) Don Line, Jay Kress and Jim Chamberlin.

* * *
​Hunger Inc., whose president was Dennis Thompson, celebrated its 30th anniversary of providing food to needy Perry Township residents.

“Memories are the
key not to the past, but
to the future.”

60 Years Ago This Week — 1963
Most merchants in Fountain Square were holding sidewalk sales.
* * *
Manual High School’s homecoming king and queen candidates were Bob Cummins, Steve Davis, Larry Markle, Jim Muir, Jim Jewell, Karen Bertels, Jeanne Fletcher, Shrynn Johnson, Connie Mudd and Denise Shockley.
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Possman Paint and Wallpaper, 2751 Brill Road, hosted a yo-yo contest.
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The 11th annual Woodlawn Festival featured a fish fry, music, prizes and 25-cent carnival rides, including the Scrambler, the Octopus and a Ferris wheel.

50 Years Ago This Week — 1973
Drs. Donald and Mary VanHoy opened an optometry practice at 8130 S. Meridian St. The VanHoys previously spent two years as one of only three husband-and-wife optometric teams in the U.S. Army.
* * *
Leslie Yeager, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Yeager and a 1972 graduate of Southport High School, completed the executive secretarial course at Central Business College.
* * *
St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove celebrated the grand opening of its $14-million, seven-story addition, which included an expanded emergency department, twin patient towers, cardiac and intensive care units and a 400-car parking garage.
* * *
Janie (Woods Hodges) from WTTV’s “Popeye and Janie” TV show made an appearance at Edgewood Grade School’s fun fest.

40 Years Ago This Week — 1983
Mark Lentz, Darryl Levin, Jim and Jeff Viewegh, Suzy Bowel, Christy Haley and John Lentz were among the youths from Southport United Methodist Church who participated in a fundraising car wash.
* * *
Dr. Bob Jones, one of America’s best-known preachers of the Gospel, spoke at Thompson Road Baptist Church.
* * *

Perry Meridian High School’s homecoming king and queen court featured (above, front from left) Lori Shaw, Steve Sidebottom, Kim Walters, Brent Baer; (back) Jill Fortuna, Brent Schieb, Lisa Shaw and Tom Heitler. Class princesses (below) were freshman Lori Smith, junior Jaynie Morrison and sophomore Kathy Rees.
* * *
Marie Polston celebrated her 25th year of employment with G.C. Murphy in Fountain Square.
* * *
David Smith and Jim Peterson from Perry Meridian were nominated for McDonald’s All-American high school band.

30 Years Ago This Week — 1993
Mayor Stephen Goldsmith announced that the Indianapolis Police Department’s South District would relocate to a building to be constructed at 1024 E. Sanders St. in Fountain Square. Additionally, several banks and community organizations were going to invest nearly $3 million to renovate dilapidated homes and buildings in the area.
* * *  
Food, music, crafts and a display of pictures from days gone by were part of Southside Turners’ 100th anniversary.
* * *
The boys tennis team from Perry Meridian won the Terre Haute Invitational. The squad consisted of Aaron Walker, Bryan Stinnet, Derek Lee, Gavin Grass, Steve Brizendine, David Daus, Nick Ruskowski, managers Dianna Reed and Jeff Meyers and coaches Paul Buck and Al Boehm.
* * *
Richard Callan, who taught at Bunker Hill Elementary School, was a finalist for a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math & Science.
* * *
The soundtrack for “Sleepless in Seattle” was Billboard’s top-selling album.
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Roncalli’s homecoming king and queen court featured Jason Simmons, Packy Meehan, Matt McGaha, Mike Tender, David Olarte, Greg Hurrle, Mike Bohn, Nicole Feely, Lori White, Stephanie Tex, Angie Funke, Stephanie Wilson, Lori Cissel, Erin Perkins and Amy Weisenbach.

20 Years Ago This Week — 2003
Indiana’s 47th governor, Frank O’Bannon, died of a stroke while in office.
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Sacred Heart Church and Concord Neighborhood Association hosted an old-fashioned fall festival.
* * *
The sixth annual Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day program was held at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in downtown.
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Lia Sherrow and Zachary Shepherd were crowned queen and king of Perry Meridian’s homecoming.
* * *
Four anonymous youths were given $150 each from Perry Township Fire Chief Bill Click for coming forward with information about an arson.

10 Years Ago This Week — 2013

Roncalli’s girls golf team won its sixth consecutive Marion County tournament. The squad featured Elaina Smith, Kristin Foresman, Casey Turk, coach Bryan Hendricks, Abby Gleixner and Samantha Fogg.
* * *

Kenny Winslow was presented a Community Service Award from Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Winslow, seen with his wife, Marylynne, and mother Martha Winslow, was recognized for his volunteer work in Southport.
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​Laurie Gridley, a graduate of Perry Meridian and Ball State University, was Roncalli’s new gymnastics coach.

“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.”

60 Years Ago This Week — 1963
Perry Township Schools had to borrow money to pay its teachers.
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El Dorado Golf and Country Club, 2080 S. State Road 135, Greenwood, hosted a ladies luncheon and style show.
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The Singer Sewing Center in Southern Plaza held a clearance sale.
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Fox’s Skating Rink at Madison and Sumner avenues held square dance parties every Sunday evening.

50 Years Ago This Week — 1973
House of Sirloin, 902 E. Hanna Ave., served steak and lobster and New York strip dinners for $4.39 and $2.69, respectively. Both meals included a salad, potato and piping-hot bread.
* * *
The Confirmation class of Resurrection Lutheran Church consisted of Julie Irish, Brian Hewitt, Mike Carey, Scott Damer, Todd Jenson and Doug Smith.
* * *
Rosedale Hills United Methodist Church used contributions from the community to purchase a second artificial kidney machine for Methodist Hospital. The first one was paid for with Top Value and S&H stamps.
* * *
Cara Bujarsky, a 1973 graduate of Southport High School and a freshman at Butler, performed in the university’s ballet theater.

40 Years Ago This Week — 1983
“Dobbs Ferry,” a comic strip by Dr. Joe Daly, debuted in The Spotlight.
* * *
G.C. Murphy in Fountain Square advertised jumbo rolls of paper towels for 50 cents; four bars of soap, 83 cents; men’s sports shirts, $3.96; and a 12-inch black and white TV, $59.94.
* * *
Cassandra and Jessie Lee, the 5-year-old twin daughters of Sue Lee, were named poster girls for the United Way of Central Indiana’s fundraising campaign.

30 Years Ago This Week — 1993
Roncalli’s girls golf team won its first city title behind the play of Aki Yokata, who shot a 52 at the Pleasant Run course. Her teammates were Audra Hillan, Laura Berlier, Jennifer Dawson, Susan Lane, Stacey Eskew, Heather Schott, Amy Zywicki, Susan Bender, Jenny Piazza, Michelle Eckhart, Alison Caskey and coach Kevin McKeand.
* * *  
Cousins Trent Glass, age 9, and Brandon McDonald, 11, both running backs and competing against each other in a Perry Township football game, scored touchdowns within 10 seconds of each other.
* * *
The 28th annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon set a record by raising more than $46 million in pledges.
* * *
Our Lady of the Greenwood Church offered Appalachian clogging lessons.
* * * 
Pasquale’s and local Lutheran churches held fundraisers for victims of flooding in the Midwest.

20 Years Ago This Week — 2003
Thomas Finchum, the 13-year-old son of Thomas and Audrey Finchum, won the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard diving competition at the Junior Pan American Championship in Belem, Brazil.
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Justin Barriger (from left) and brothers Clay and Chuckie Eidson hunted crawdads in the creek along McFarland Road in Southport.
* * *

The Southport Antique Mall donated $300 to Perry Senior Citizens Services. On hand for the presentation were Geri Bell, Jim Hoganman, Nita Louzon and Ed Stabb.
* * *

Jane Keller, who taught language arts and social studies at Southport Middle School, was the school’s Teacher of the Year for 2002-03. She and her husband, Joe, a self-employed manufacturer’s rep, had two grown children, Gracie Whitlock and Stephen Kimberly, and four grandchildren.
* * *
More than 150 organizations were expected to participate in a community fair on Monument Circle that commemorated the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
* * *
The 800 or so members of Southport United Methodist Church were helping to start a new church, The Harbor UM Worshipping Community at 5135 Commerce Square Drive.
* * *

Roncalli’s new faculty members were Brittany Somrak, Kristel Owen, John Ross, Allison Tackitt, Christopher Donis, Samantha Quinn, David Maloney and Ryan Costello. Not pictured: Mary Ann Fehring and Terry Pratt.

10 Years Ago This Week — 2013
Beech Grove’s four-day fall festival featured live music, a parade, carnival rides, food and games.
* * *
Dick and Marsha Clapper, who owned Southern Plaza Laundry & Tan, celebrated their 50th year in business.
* * *

Jayln Fox, Ava Scheele and A.J. Smith enjoyed dancing at the German-American Klub’s 37th annual Oktoberfest. Also partaking in the festivities were former Perry Meridian High School classmates Steve Neu, Dean Lappin, Jana Noble, Tina Brennan, Brian Tomlinson, Sherry Brickey and Pat Lilly.

​* * *
​Perry Meridian senior quarterback Conner Smith was named “Indiana Sports Talk’s” Player of the Week for his performance against Decatur Central, throwing for six touchdowns and 490 yards. 

“Memories are the
key not to the past, but
to the future.”​

60 Years Ago This Week — 1963
The Poor Sisters of St. Francis Seraph of Perpetual Adoration celebrated 100 years of operating St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove.
* * *
In celebration of Manual’s season-opening football game, the school’s Dads Club hosted a fish fry. Principal Edgar Stahl, who served as the fry master, noted that soft music in the cafeteria would enhance the dining experience.
* * * 
Indiana Central College President I. Lynd Esch addressed members of Southport High School’s PTA.
* * *
A newly decorated four-room house in Beech Grove rented for $45 a month.

50 and 40 Years Ago This Week — 1973 and 1983
Editor George Cafouros extended his Labor Day holiday to weeklong vacations and didn’t publish papers.

Andrea Zappia, daughter of Jeane and Steve Zappia and a Franklin Central senior who taught disabled children how to play softball, was presented a Character Counts Award from Mayor Bart Peterson.
* * *
The rains came … and so did the flooding along South Harding Street. Water surrounded the home of Ronnie Reese and his neigh-bors in the 3400 block after 7-1/2 inches fell over the weekend. But it didn’t take a deluge of that magnitude to flood his yard; often a minor rainstorm resulted in standing water. Reese’s beef was that no city officials wanted to accept responsibility for the drainage problems.
* * *
Barbara Wampner and Maria Bryant were presented 30-year pins for their service to Perry Township Schools. Wampner had been at Clinton Young Elementary since 1973, first as a cafeteria worker and since 1977 as a secretary. Bryant had taught for 32 years, 30 of them at Clinton Young.
* * *​

Denny Steeb (from left) Scott Allanson, Joe Bernardi and Mike Miller won the Mike Alvis Memorial Golf Outing for the second year in a row.

10 Years Ago This Week — 2013
The B-Side band, which featured Roncalli sophomores Samuel Lakin, Calvin Catt and Mikey Berger playing classic rock ‘n roll songs, was regularly playing gigs — sometimes being paid for their performances.
* * *
Perry Meridian High School guidance director Brad Miller was presented a Yale Educator Award, which recognized teachers who inspired students to achieve excellence.
* * *
 Charlene “Waggy” Wagahoff was the inaugural recipient of Glenns Valley Elementary School’s Eagle Award for going beyond the call of duty when serving as a substitute teacher. 
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Hornet Park Elementary School students Jackson Cassida, Kasie Kissick, Amiya Carlos, Landon Malicoat and Sadie Tilden donned their favorite hats in recognition of Hat Day.