Crist - Henry - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Henry Crist, seventy-eight years old, a resident of this city nearly all his life and for many years one of the best known men in the community, died at Indianapolis Tuesday after an extended illness. The body will be brought to the city Thursday at noon and will be taken at once to Masonic cemetery where burial will be in charge of the Crawfordsville Masonic lodge members.

Mr. Crist came to Crawfordsville while a young man and during the years he lived here engaged in various occupations. Forty years ago he was in the grocery business with his brother, John Crist, as a partner. Their stores were located in a frame building at the southwest corner of Main and Green street, where the Fisher block now stands. Mr. Crist's brother retired from the old business and the deceased then formed a partnership with James Stubbins in the grocery business, their store being in about the spot that is now occupied by Stout & Bannister"s store, 210 east Main street. Later Mr. Crist and his brother followed the trade of building board sidewalks and many of these walks were built by the two men in various parts of the the city. Some time afterwards Mr. Crist became a tinner and he followed this vocation until his failing health forced him to retire.

When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Crist enlisted in the Sixteenth Indiana battery, a light artillery regiment and saw active service during the conflict. At the time of his death he was drawing a pension from the government for disability brought on by his experience during the war.

Mr. Crist resided at 314 east College street in this city and he left here only a few years ago. His wife, whom he married in this city, died here a short time before he departed Crawfordsville. Mrs. Crist had been an active member of the Methodist church here for years. The deceased was a member of the Masonic lodge here and had a large number of friends among the older residents of the city. He was more familiarly known by the name of "Harry".

{Notes: GLEN AND "BETTY" CRIST, and other Crists, were also known in Logansport, Cass County, Indiana.

Elizabeth ("Betty") was a wonderful woman, who used to play the piano music in the old silent movie theatres. She had memorabilia in her basement left over from the Rudolph Valentino days.

"PLAY US A SONG, BETTY," we three kids would say to her. And, all four of us: Betty; my sisters, Marie and Chris; and I would sit on her piano bench together, and she would play and play until the day came when she could play no more. Arthritis finally took its toll.

Her husband, Glen P. Crist, was a WWI veteran. Betty showed us his long, horizontal platoon photo in their "doughboy" outfits. We weren't as close to Glen, who Betty called, "Christy," as we were with Betty. But, he was still a great guy and an avid fisherman, who fished, even in the Winter, in the nearby Eel River.

Logansport was known as "The land where two rivers meet," the other river being the Wabash River. They meet on the edge of downtown Logansport. At one time, the rivers were the main mode of transportation between cities. Then, of course, there were the canals. Later, it was the railroads. Not to mention the in-town streetcars, horse and buggies, etc. Then the buses. Logansport, though constantly shrinking, is rich in history.

Back to Glen's fishing. When Glen reached a certain age, he sold his car and converted his garage into something that looked like a fisherman's tackle shop, complete with long, bamboo poles, tackle boxes, and some things that I had no idea what they were.

In their bathroom, they even had "fish on a rope," as I would call it. Three blue soap fish, of three different sizes, all connected by a little white "rope."

Betty and Glen were like second parents to we three kids. I remember how, once, when I was little and riding a squeaky tricycle, Glen called me up into his driveway to oil the squeak. Betty is the one who taught me how to harvest and save flower seeds, etc.

We resided at 1005 East Broadway. Our parents were Francis ("Frank") Leverett Todd and Evaleen Rosemary Murphy Todd. Betty and Glen had built a new home next to our home. Previously, they had resided somewhere on North Street, the street one block north of East Broadway. Betty had told me these facts.

She also told me that the downtown area was once a quarry, followed by being the city dump. Who would know that it would end up being such a nice neighborhood in later years?

So many stories with those two wonderful people.

They are both buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, on the north end of Logansport.  -- sent - Angelie "Angie" Frances Todd