| WE HAVE A WEBSITE!!!
Jami Heying suggested that the WCHS have a website. This was brought up at our March meeting and members were very receptive to the idea. A new board position, Webmaster, was created and Jami was named as our Webmaster.
Jami, Mike Fleming and Cheryl Albert met to discuss the costs of a web page and ideas of what to put on it. Jami checked into prices, found a company that was reasonable and the board members gave the go-ahead.
The web address is:
www.westville-history.com
and Jami has done a great job of setting this up. We're lucky to have a computer “guru” in our midst.
Old pictures of the Westville schools, old photos of the downtown area, a couple of our newsletters and the biographies of the veterans whose names are on our Veterans Memorial are now online. Pictures of the veterans who lost their lives in service are with their bios. An interesting history of the Monon and Wabash Railroads by Steve Potrzebowski can also be read online.
There are links to some other historical societies as well.
Take a look and be sure and sign the guest book.
If you have any old photo's or other information that you'd like to share for our webpage, please send them. The are email addresses posted for sending any pictures or items.
MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
The Westville American Legion Post #21 held their annual Memorial Day Services at the Westville, St. Mary's and Pinhook cemeteries and at the Veterans Memorial.
The noon ceremony began with the color guard and was followed with a prayer, led by Legion Chaplain, Lewis Cass.
Post Commander Stacey Young gave a reading.
The new wreath was put in place by Mark Evan Rimbaugh, who is on active duty.
Chaplain Cass gave the benediction, followed by the gun salute and the playing of “Taps”.
Pictures taken at the service appear elsewhere in this newsletter.
*****
RUSSELL LEWIS
(1915-2005)
Russell Lewis, a WCHS member, passed away on June 6, 2005 , in Middletown, Conn.
Russell was born on December 19, 19 15, in Delphi, Indiana, the son of Leonard and Hulda (Gloff) Lewis.
A 1934 graduate of Westville High School, he attended Valparaiso University and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in electrical engineering.
He worked for Columbia University Division of War Research during WW2 and traveled all over the world in this job.
In 1975, Russell retired from New London Laboratory, which was part of the Underwater Systems Center. He was a consultant for various naval programs while employed there.
Russell married Lois Brewster, who preceeded him in death. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.
Several years ago, Russell was our guest speaker and gave an interesting program on his youth in Westville and his world travels. He was the author of several books on his experiences.
We send our sympathy to his family.
*****
FUN QUIZ
How much do you know about the history of our community? No, there isn't any prize, just a little quiz to test your memory on the history of the area. The answers can be found at the end of this newsletter.
1. Who was the first white child born in LaPorte County?
2. In 1902, a young man of 16 years was killed while guarding the Westville bank. What was his name?
3. Who was the first librarian?
4. The telephones in Westville were converted to dial phones in what year, 1948, 1949 or 1950?
5.This man furnished bricks made in his ovens for the Methodist Church, the Oddfellows Hall and the building that bore his name.
6. On May 1, 18 65, a large crowd gathered in downtown Westville. What was the occasion?
7. A township resident was a land surveyor for the U.S., a state assemblyman and a United States senator. Who was he?
8. He built the first frame house in Westville, for Henly Clyburn.
9. Before it was U.S. 421, before it was Indiana 43, this highway had another name. What was it?
10. In what year did Westville celebrate its Centennial?
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VETERANS MEMORIAL
UPDATE
A thank you to the Westville Tri-Kappa for their recent donation to the Veteran's Memorial Fund.
This fund is used to buy the name plates when needed, new flags and other expenses.
2 new name plates have been added to the Memorial and 3 plates have been corrected.
At times, unknown persons have left bouquets of flowers at the Memorial. These are welcome tributes and are not removed until wilted. We thank who ever is leaving them.
*****
REFRESHMENTS
The ones bringing refreshments for the next 3 meetings are:
July: Ellen Kurtz and Father Joe Pusateri
August: Mauvie Fagg
September: Jean Bartmess.
Due to the number of students attending our meetings during the school year, Priscilla Sebert suggested that we ask them to furnish the refreshments at some of our meetings when they return in the fall.
*****
DOUG WARNKE RECIPIENT OF WCHS AWARD
In May, Priscilla Sebert and Jean Bartmess attended the annual Academic Awards Night at the Westville School.
Priscilla presented our first annual plaque for the “Outstanding 8th. Grade History Student” to Doug Warnke.
Doug was picked by his teachers for this award.
Congratulations to Doug.
*****
(Note: The reports for meetings will be mostly about the speakers as the items covered in the business sessions appear elsewhere in the newsletter.)
MARCH MEETING
24 students and 1 parent joined our members for the March meeting.
Last year, Dick Fagg journeyed to Mexico with the Lions Club members to give out eyeglasses. He spoke to our group after his return. Dick made the trip to Mexico again the year and was asked to speak on the eyeglass recycling mission.
5 members of the Westville Lions club were part of the 42 members from District 25-A to make the trip
After a 4 ½ hour flight from O'Hare to Mexico City, they had a 3 ½ hour bus ride to their destination at Iguala, Guerero. Dick reported that they stayed at a very nice, new hotel and the meals were excellent.
At 7:15 a.m. each day, they boarded a bus to go to the work site.
In 5 working days, they fitted glasses on 10,418 people with the ages ranging from 3 years old to 108 years old. Dick said one person did not have a left ear and they found a new use for duct tape.
The equipment used to check the eyes is bought with money from grants and donations.
Using a video with his talk, he showed how they check the eyes, the large room with the boxes of eyeglasses and other interesting scenes.
If you have eyeglasses that are no longer needed, PLEASE donate them to the Lions Club and give the gift of sight to someone.
Jean Bartmess served the refreshments.
*****
APRIL MEETING
24 students were present at our April meeting.
Our speaker was Arnold Bass. Mr. Bass has written a book, “The Amazing Women of LaPorte County”. He spoke of LaPorte County women in the 1920's and 1930's who worked in non-traditional jobs. Some of the women headed their own businesses which was rare then. He told of other occupations, usually held by men, that the women worked at.
He mentioned a women's baseball team (naming some of the players) that was tough and ranked right up there with any male teams.
After his talk, Mr. Bass took questions from the group.
Joanne Elliott served the refreshments.
*****
MAY MEETING
15 students and 3 guests, Mary Potrzebowski, Phil Carson and Priscilla Lietzan joined us for the May meeting.
LaPorte County Sheriff Jim Arnold was the speaker.
Jim and other law enforcement officers took a trip to Israel in September. He had a large map of Israel and the surrounding countries and told of the political climate and why the countries have not been at peace since the birth of the Israeli nation in 1948.
He talked of the security measures that are in effect. Also, the military training, even for the young people. He said even teenagers carry weapons and are trained to use them.
Sheriff Arnold is a very capable speaker and was able to explain the middle east situation in easy to understand terms.
Many of our members and the students asked questions afterwards.
Sheriff Arnold brought a box of pencils and key rings for the students and he also brought 2 mugs with the sheriff dept. logo for us to raffle off as door prizes. The lucky winners were Bob Glassley and Helen Carson.
Refreshments were served by Ron and Cheryl Albert
*****
JUNE MEETING
With no speaker engaged for the June meeting, WCHS member Father Joe Pusateri took on the job.
Father Joe gave a brief history of the St. Mary's Church in Otis, the second oldest Polish Catholic Church in the United States. The oldest was established in Corpus Christi, Texas.
St. Mary of Czestochowa had its beginnings in 1873. Worshippers first met at a church in Westville, sharing a building with another congregation. They built their own church in Otis and this building was later destroyed by fire.
Another building was erected and was completed in May, 1919.
A parochial school was added and this was in use for many years. At one time there was also an orphanage.
Father Joe brought some beautiful items that are used in the Mass. These, along with books and other items were displayed on a table for everyone to examine after his informative talk.
St. Mary's Church and those old settlers are truly a historical part of our community.
Refreshments were served by Priscilla Sebert.
*****
NEW MEMBER
Welcome to Phil Carson, who became a member at our June meeting.
Glad to have you with us, Phil.
*****
NOTE CARDS
Mike and Kathy Fleming have been working hard on the note cards and they are ready for the printer.
Joanne Elliott and Jean Bartmess volunteered to shop for the note paper and envelopes.
There will be 2 different sets of cards. One set will feature early photos of the community and the other set will have old railroad photos.
Thanks to Mike and Kathy for the many hours they have spent choosing the pictures and organizing the cards for printing.
*****
PUMPKIN FEST 2005
The annual Pumpkin Fest will be September 30, October 1 and 2, 2005.
The WCHS will have a booth again. Items for sale will include video tapes of the Dedication of the Veterans Memorial, video tapes of the Salute to WW2 Veterans, CD-Roms with pictures of the Salute to WW2 Vets, CD-Roms with old pictures of the community, prints of old pictures of the community, the Veterans Memorial medallions and our new note cards.
Steve Potrzebowski usually has his railroad books and albums on display and I'm sure he'll be willing to loan them again this year. They always draw a lot of interest.
A full page ad for our organization has been placed in the 2005 Pumpkin Fest Book.
At one of our meetings, there will be a sign-up sheet for volunteers to work in the booth. Come on......sign up!! It's fun!!
*****
PNC SCHOLARSHIP
Joanne Elliott reported that Aug. 15 is the deadline for the PNC Scholarship applications. The WCHS is awarding a $250 scholarship. The application forms have been taken to PNC .
Any donations to the scholarship fund are welcome. We will give this annually.
*****
INDICATOR PRESERVATION PROJECT
The archival paper has been received for the Indicator preservation project. A work date will be set for this fall and we should be able to finish the task. It is important to preserve these newspapers; they are a historical record of the community.
*****
PUBLICITY
Dick Fagg brought up the idea that we should have our web address and meeting times published in the Indicator.
Joanne Elliott made a motion that we have a reporter so our news can be printed in the local and area papers. Mike Fleming will add this job to his duties as secretary.
*****
LOGO CONTEST
We're going to hold a contest for the design of a new logo. Although plans for the contest are not finalized, it was thought that the whole community and students would be elgible to enter.
Rules for the contest and what prize will be given for the winning logo will be announced later.
*****
DONATION TO UNITY
The WCHS has made a donation to the Unity Foundation of Laporte County.
COOKBOOKS
The cookbook project is ‘on hold', while we try to gather more recipes. We have about one half of the needed amount.
You may mail your recipes to:
WCHS
P.O. Box 395
Westville, In. 46391
or you can email your recipes to:
Cheryl at charmel2@verizon.net
Joanne at: jelliot@csinet.net
Mike at: mpfleming@comcast.net
*****
NEW BOOK PLANNED
At the June meeting, Mike Fleming brought some books that have been published on towns and interesting places in the LaPorte County area.
Members agreed that it would be nice to have a book on Westville and the surrounding area. This would be a large undertaking, entailing many hours of research, but we'd like to have a book ready in one year.
Decisions will have to be made as to what we want to include so that the research can be started. Any input or ideas are welcome.
*****
HOW WELL DID YOU DO?
(Answers to quiz)
1. Elizabeth Miriam Clyburn
2. Wesley A. Reynolds
3. Ezra T. Scott
4. 1950
5. Wesley Cattron
6. The Lincoln Funeral Train, which stopped for a short time.
7. The Honorable Charles W. Cathcart
8. James Ray
9. Plank Road
10. 1951
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