Morocco Neighbors in Profile - Morocco Courier Articles
Written by then editor Donna LaCosse in 1979 and 1980.

Allen, Charles G. "Jerry"	Veterans Service Officer NC
Augustin, Allen	Morocco Courier
Baird, Eva	Baird's Blues
Bannon, Lawrence	North Newton High School Superintendent
Bingham, Larry	Printy's Repair Shop
Bingham, Nellie and Leonard	Pullman Café
Blaney, Clay	Spradling's Store
Boyd, Adley	Storey Implement
Brown, Dick and Judy	Brown's Insurance and Judy's Fabric Shop
Brown, Linwood	Morocco State Bank
Bryant, Don	Ace Hardware Store
Bryant, Thelma	A&P Store Manager
Calaway, John	Morocco Town Board President
Camblin, Doug	Heating and Cooling and Construction
Cardwell, Pat	Cardwell's Funeral Home
Carpenter, Ann and Bill	Dunromin Ranch
Carter, Permelia	Telephone Operator
Chamberlain, Don	North Newton School Board
Clark, Gary	North Newton School Board
Collins, Ernie	Newton County Road Supervisor
Corbin, Ruth	History Buff and Teacher
Daddow, Jimmy	Daddow's Harness Shop
Dawson, Brenda	Beautician
Deardurff, Bonnie	Morocco Post Mistress
Deardurff, Denny	Deardurff Oil Company
Deardurff, Galen	Deardurff Motor Sales
Deardurff, Nancy	Beautician
Derflinger, Maynard	Maynard's Garage
DeYoung, Glenn	North Newton School Board
Ellis, R. Vernor	Morocco Courier
Farwell, Sharon	Sharon's Beauty Shop
Floyd, Lillian	Morocco Library
Gibson, Audrey	Audrey's Shoppe
Hensel, Dave	Hensel's TV and Repair
Hickman, Gailord	Hickman's Jewlery
Hively, Roger and Harriet	Morocco Laundromat
James, Gene	James' Grocery
Jarvis, Mary	North Newton School Board
Kaupke, Dick	Morocco Implement Company
Kessler, Luther	Beaver Township Trustee
Krueger, Harold	Krueger's Machine Shop
LaBelle, Jack	Fountain Press
LaCosse, Peg	Balcony Interiors
Manchester, Maude	Manchester's Garage
Mangis, Dalton	North Newton High School Superintendent
Martin, Dick and Grace	Downtown Texaco
McClatchey, Maurice	Morocco Plumbing and Heating
Molson, Dottie	North Newton School Board
Perlman, Stan	Permonite Manufacturing
Potts, Marion	Potts Barber Shop
Printy, Bill	Printy's Repair Shop
Ringer, John	Barber
Roadruck, Georgiana	Beautician
Sammons, William	Sammons Law Office
Shelf, Tom	North Newton School Board
Shirer, Jan	Balcony Interiors
Shuey, Tom	Shuey Insurance Agency
Storey, Milt	Storey Implement
Warne, Alice	Morocco Elementary School Secretary
Warne, Jack	North Newton School Board
Warrick, Marsha	Beautician
Whitlow, Brenda and Jim	Whitlow's Floral Shop
Williamson, Bob	People's Drug Store
Williamson, Mike	Beaver Township Trustee
Wiltfang, Keith	Golden Rule Grain Elevator

 

Allen Augustine, Morocco Courier Owner/Publisher
Neighbors in profile           
June 21, 1979      
By Donna LaCosse
Alan Augustine-publisher
                Allan Augustin, a retired newspaper printer and publisher, is a familiar figure strolling up and down State Street each morning for his daily trip to and from the post office. This daily constitution affords him the opportunity to visit with old friends and observe new faces.
                He and Blanch, his wife of 56 years, reside at 385 East State Street, Morocco, moving her from Glenwood City, Wisconsin, in 1931.
                Allan was born in Menassha, Wisconsin and grew up in Glenwood City. Following high school graduation, he attended Hammond University in St. Paul, Minn. for one year and in 1918, he served a short tour in the army during World War I.
                He returned to Glenwood City and entered the newspaper business with his father where he remained until 1926.  For the next five years, he managed a general store in Glenwood City.
                In 1931, he bought the Morocco Courier from Leslie Miller of Mt. Ayr.  The Courier office was then located across the street from the present building, in what is now the Auto Parts Store.
                All the news was hand set, one letter at a time and a good typesetter could set 2-1/2 to 3 columns of news a day. Blanch assisted him in the business, filling several positions after deciding she was a “printers devil” and setting type was not for her. The decision to leave the typesetting to someone else was made by Blanch, who after setting a complete column of news, bumped the galley, causing it to fall on the floor, scattering letters every which way. She said she just knew it was the devil at work and she best work in other areas of the newsroom.
                The present Morocco Courier office was built in 1939. Two years later, a linotype machine was purchased and over the following years, various machines were added to improve the printing room.
                The papers were had addressed for mailing at first, then the labels were set on the linotype and the “ribbons” of addresses were run through a machine dispensing paste. Each label, containing the name, address and the renewal date for each subscriber was pasted onto the paper.
                Mr. Augustin sold the Morocco Courier to R. Vernor Ellis in 1949 and for the next three years, he was employed by the Haywood Tag Company in Lafayette. He also worked for the Benton Review in Fowler and Rensselaer Republican before going with the Gary Post Tribune in 1955. He retired from the newspaper business in 1964.
                Allan is the past president of the Lions Club and the Methodist Men’s Club. He served as Master of the Masonic Lodge and as an Adjutant and Service Officer of the American Legion.
                He is a 50 year member of the Masonic Lodge, the American Legion, the Tripoli Shrine Temple and the Royal Arch Masons.
                He is presently serving as the Adjutant of the Newton County World War I Barracks, 214.
                Allan and the former Blanch Winger of Amery, Wisconsin were married June 15, 1923. Allan’s bride gave up a teaching career to be a full time wife after teaching in Glenwood City for two years and in Ripon, Wisconsin for one year.  She graduated from River Falls State University in 1920.
                The Augustin’s are the parents of four children. All four graduated from Morocco High School.
Richard, their oldest, was killed on July 30, 1945 during World War II.
                Mary Ann graduated from Indiana State University as a teacher. She married John Kumf and was the mother of four children. The Kumf’s lived in Cloverdale, Indiana were Mary Ann died on May 31, 1978. Florence May also graduated from Indiana State as a teacher. She, her husband Bob Bunning and four children live in LaPorte.
 
Jerry Allen, Veterans Service Officer
Neighbors in profile
June 5, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Veterans Service officer
                Charles G. Allen, more commonly known as Jerry, is a hometown boy who spent 20 years in the army and returned to Morocco to serve as the Newton County Veterans Service officer.
                Jerry was born in Kentland on May 20, 1930 and moved to Morocco in 1941 when he was in the fifth grade. He is a 1948 graduate of Morocco High School and is the foster son of Doris and Owen Hunter.
                During his junior and senior year in high school, he was employed at the old B & I Restaurant. Following graduation he worked with Blondie Courtwright and Dick Tebo in general construction.
                In August of 1948, he enlisted in the army where he was a cook for two years and a supply sergeant for 18 years. He served in such places and Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Missoula, Montana and Seattle, Washington. He also served two tours in Korea, two in Germany and two tours in Thailand. These six tours included the years between 1955 and 1968.
                He retired from the army in August 1968 and remained in Thailand where he was employed by the Ampac Maintenance Company until 1976.
                Jerry and the former See Suwan of Roi Et, Thailand were married on January9, 1976 after which they came to Morocco for a six month honeymoon.
                Then See returned to Thailand and Jerry went to Saudi Arabia where he spent the next six month employed as chief of Supply by P.A. & E., a parent company of Ampac Maintenance.
                In April 1977, Jerry and See returned to Morocco. In January 1978, he became the Newton County Veterans Service officer with an office based in the American Legion Hall on North Walker Street.
                Jerry is a member of the Veteran of Foreign Wars, Post 1290 in Rensselaer and the Morocco American Legion Post 146.
As a hobby, he enjoys working crossword puzzles
 
Adley Boyd, Storey Implement
Neighbors in profile
April 11, 1989
By Donna LaCosse
Boyd helps self as he helps others
                “My belief is that we have a creator, God, who desires that mankind become reconciled to Him before we die,” said Adley Boyd in a recent interview.
                Adley, who has been around for a good many years, thinks most of our problems are self-inflicted and he “just kinda likes to be around” when people need someone to talk too.
                “If I can help someone help themselves, then my life becomes more meaningful too.” commented Adley as he touched briefly on the roll he plays as a Sephens Minister at the United Methodist Church in Morocco where he has been a member for many, many years.
                The oldest child of William and Josephine (Sorenson) Boyd, Adley was born in Illinois, just west of Lake Village, on July 4, 1905. Others in the family were a brother, Chester, who is now deceased; a brother, Roy, who lives in Lake Village; a sister, Pauline Peterson at Momence, Ill. and a sister, Shirley Storey at rural Morocco.
                He attended the State Line School for eight years after which the school closed and the students were forced into going to various other small schools in order to complete their education.
                Adley didn’t go on to another school; at the ripe old age of 13, he found himself employed in a combination bakery, restaurant and grocery store in Momence. The business was owned by his aunt Carrie and his uncle William Dixon.
                Later he worked on a farm for several years; then worked for contractors in the building trade in Hammond for quite a while and then he worked in the General Tank-Car Corporation where he helped build wooden railroad cars.
                At age 23, he heard that bids were being let for the school bus route from Lake Village to Morocco and, since every job he had ever had was really hard work, Adley decided to bid on the bus route with hopes that he would be lucky and end up with a “cushy” job.
                He underbid the job by 13 cents and became the driver of a bus that would travel to Morocco each morning via gravel roads (no highway in those days) from Lake Village to Conrad and then west to the first road going back south; from there south to the Enos road, east to Enos and then south to Morocco. There was no road from Conrad straight to Morocco. He was the bus driver for three years.
                His pay was $89.85 per month and he provided his own truck, repairs and gasoline. The “school hack,” owned by the school, was placed on the back of the truck and that was where the students rode. It was home constructed with two long seats running lengthwise on either side of the “hack.”
                The heating system was the exhaust pipe that entered from under the bus near the driver and ran all the way to the back, down the center aisle. A long board fit over the pipe so the children could not burn themselves trying to get warm.
                Many times during the winter, the kids would ask Adley to open the door and let the cold out!
                He gave $350 for the Ford Model chassis that had to be cranked in order to start. During severe weather, 20 degrees below zero at times, it was necessary for Adley to remove the water and the oil from the truck, take them inside to be heated on the stove. Then in the morning he had to replace both in the vehicle just in order to get it started.
                This was a “cushy” job?
                The first day he drove the bus to Morocco, let the kids off at the school and then parked the bus at the bank.
                Then it hit him. He had nothing to do until school was out in the late afternoon! Nine whole months with nothing to do all day long!
                After the initial shock wore off, Adley decided to kill time by hanging out at the local Implement Company for a few hours. While there, he asked the owner, Charles Myer Sr. if there was anything he could do in order to fill up those idle hours between bus trips.
                There were things to be done and Adley found himself with a second job that developed into full-time summer employment, six days a week from 7a.m. until 6 p.m. plus, the store was open on Wednesday nights in the summer time.
                The Implement Store was located in the Livery Stable just north of the present “Story” building. There is a vacant lot there now.
                Later, Floyd Cox entered into a partnership with Myer and together they had the present building erected in 1929 and 1930.
                In 1945, the business was sold to Ray Baird who sold half interest to Milt Storey in 1947, who in turn purchased Baird’s interest in the business in 1950. Milt’s son-in-law, Dale LaCosse later became a partner with Storey and when Milt retired, Dale became the sole owner.
                And, during all this time, Adley remained employed at doing things with which he was truly fascinated.
                Always interested in anything mechanical and electrical, he was delighted when he could watch moving parts do their appointed “thing.” This job was right down his alley!
                When Adley retired at the age of 67, he had worked for International Harvester Dealers for 49 years.
                Adley had a good friend. A man by the name of Roy Deardurff who was very knowledgeable in the field of electronics. When Adley, who was taking a course in radio repair and servicing, needed help with his “homework” he would go to Roy for help.
                Roy just happened to have a sister, Esther, upon whom Adley had “feasted” his eyes many times. He would see her walking down the street, at social functions and occasionally when he went to Roy for help.
                Following several chance meetings, one day the couple found themselves in a restaurant at the same time and a real friendship began. On April 15, 1939, Adley Boyd married Esther Deardurff and they have been “friends “for 50 years.
                Esther was well blessed with brothers. There was Roy, who is now deceased as are brothers Burt and Carl and sister Ruth Murphy.  A brother, Donald, resides in Morocco with his wife, Audrey. Their parents were Josiah Ross and Lora Irene Deardurff.
                Adley and Esther are the parents of three children. Son Doug is a graduate of Morocco High School and Purdue University and is a Chemical Engineer with the Kiaser Engineering Company in Hayward California. He has two children; Sheryl, is married to Robert Kelsch and they live in Orlando, Florida. David is a senior in a college at San Luis Obispo, California. His major is Computer Programming.
                Their daughter, Bonnie, is married to David Wagner and they live in rural Morocco. Bonnie is also a graduate of Morocco High School and is employed at Allen’s IGA Store in Morocco where her husband is general manager.
                They are the parents of two daughters. Lori graduated from North Newton High School and now resides at Brookston, Indiana with her husband, Vance Larimer. Jill, also a graduate of North Newton is training to become a pilot at Purdue University.
                Son Ron was a member of the first class to graduate from North Newton High School in 1968. He is also a Purdue University graduate, is married to high school sweetheart, Beth Gonczy and they live in Glen Burnie, Maryland with their two daughters, Michelle and Melissa and their two sons, Adam and Mark. Ron is employed by a Computer Science Company in Washington, D.C.
                Adley is a 50 year member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He likes to travel and enjoys anything to do with photography.
                He is also very health minded and can be seen “ambling” along the street and country roads almost any evening during the warm weather.                                             
                Another hobby that keeps him busy during the warm weather is his organic garden where he uses nothing but natural materials as fertilizer and grows really great vegetables that the whole family enjoys.
                “Had I had the money and a high school education,” said Adley, “I would have gone to electronic school. Since I couldn’t do that, I did the next best thing; I worked with electrical and mechanical things, and I kept on learning by doing.”
 
Boyd Additions
                In the article about Adley Boyd that appeared in this paper two weeks ago, two of his brothers were not named.
                Orville Boyd lives in Lake Village and their brother, Lawrence Boyd resides in Momence.
                Adley’s friend and Esther’s brother, was Ray Deardurff instead of Roy as printed in the article.
                Aldey also wanted the reading public to know that when the little country school he attended closed it was because that was the beginning of school consolidation at Lake Village. There were only 11 students in the school and he was the only one in his class.
                When asked where he ranked in his class, the answer was typical Adley Boyd; he said he was never quite sure what his rank was!
 
Audrey Gibson, Audrey’s Shop
Neighbors in profile
October 30, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Audrey’s now featuring silk flowers
                Audrey’s Shoppe, featuring silk floral arrangements and decorative wall hangings that are so popular for home use or gift giving, is located just off the beaten path of the Morocco central business district. The fairly new boutique is an added asset to the town and just one more drawing card to entice shoppers into Morocco and to attract local people to shop at home.
                Located on north Clay Street, two blocks from the downtown area, shoppers can find an assortment of gift giving items that are priced to satisfy their needs and their purse.
                Audrey Gibson, local lady who has been involved in the upholstery business for several years, is the proprietor of the new business.
                She was born in McLeansboro, Ill. on March 17, 1925. She attended Mayberry School, a one room country school, and McLeansboro High School.
                Her first place of employment was in a shirt factory in her home town after which she moved to Hammond, Ind. where she operated an overhead crane for the Continental Roll Company in Hammond and was also a clerk in the Minas Department store in Hammond.
                In 1946, she was married to Wayne Holley in Hammond where they resided until 1950 when they moved to Morocco.  Audrey spent the next several years being a housewife and a full time mother to four children; Donna, Carolyn, Betty and Ronald.
                Donna, a 1965 graduate of Morocco High School, was born in 1947. She is married to Wilbur Doty and is an educational instructor at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Crown Point. Wilbur is employed at U.S. Steel in Gary. The couple reside in DeMotte with their two daughter, Tiffany, seven and Phadra, five.
                Carolyn and her husband, Tim Geller, live in Morocco where Carolyn is employed at the Morocco State Bank. Tim is a Farm Bureau Insurance adjuster and they share their home with daughter Kristina, ten and son Mark, who is seven years old. Carolyn was born in 1949 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1967.
                Betty is a 1969 graduate of North Newton High School. She was born in 1951 and was first married to Doug Rainford who was killed in an automobile accident in 1976, just a few weeks before the birth of their second child. In 1977, she married Ernie Lebo who is an office employee at the Winamac Coil and Spring Company in Kewanna, Ind. The Lebos reside in Winamac with Sean, seven years old; Alicia, four and Joel two.
                Ron resides in Lowell with wife, Mary Gail Bench; daughter Jessica, three and Nicholas, one year old. Ron is a carpenter. He was born in 1952 and graduated from North Newton High School in 1971.
                Audrey was married to Harvey Gibson, a truck driver in 1974 and has been upholstering furniture for the past 15 years. Her new business venture is being operated in connection with her upholstery business.
                Audrey’s Shoppe hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily except for Thursday when the shop is closed all day.
 
Lawrence Bannon, North Newton School Superintendent
Neighbors in profile
September 13, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
He refuses to grow old
                Did your grandpa go bike riding with you? Did he show you how to manipulate a pogo stick by “pogoing” on the stick himself?
Or walk on stilts so you could see how it felt to walk around with your head in the clouds?
                There’s a man in this town who will be remembered by his grandchildren as an interesting and energetic grandfather.
                They will not remember him as a grey haired, retired, professional man but they will remember him as being young and fun to be with.
                Lawrence Bannon, the grandfather who refuses to grow old. He doesn’t have time. He’s too busy enjoying life.
                Lawrence was born on Oct. 31, 1906 in Boone County, Indiana. He graduated from Sheridan High School in 1926 and received his B.A Degree from Central Normal College in Danville, Indiana in 1930.
                Even before he received his degree, he was employed as a high school teacher in Brook, where he remained for three years.
                During his first year of teaching in 1929, he just happened to notice, occasionally, this cute little senior girl who was too busy doing her own thing to notice that he noticed. Following graduation, they became better acquainted but in a platonic way and then the depression came.
                There was no money to pay all the teachers and since Lawrence was one of the last teachers hired, he was one of the first teachers released. He returned to Boone County and became an elementary teacher in the one room, Bakers Corner School where he remained for the next three years.
                Once in a while, a letter came from Brook and then a letter would arrive in Brook but this was a trying time in the life of a young man and Lawrence wasn’t thinking much about romance.
                During this time, his father became ill and passed away and Lawrence was not only a full-time teacher but he was also helping his family through a difficult time in their lives.
                In the fall of 1935, he returned to Brook where he taught typing, bookkeeping and short hand for the next 21 years.
                He also returned to Newton County to renew the friendship with the girl of his dreams and three years later, wedding bells were ringing loud and clear.
                He and the former June James were married on Nov. 23, 1938 and on Nov 6, 1939 they became parents of a Son, Jim. Sally joined the family circle on Jan. 26, 1941 and Nancy appeared on June 8, 1945. Seven years later, Debbie arrived and the Bannons became a complete family.
                Lawrence accepted the position of principal in the Morocco School in 1956 and continued in that capacity until 1961 when he became the Newton County School Superintendant.  In 1963, he became the superintendant of the North Newton School Corporation where he remained for five years.
                Following his resignation as superintendant, he taught business in the south Newton High School for three years and retired from the teaching profession in 1971.
                During his years as county superintendant, the first new school to be built in Newton County since 1921 was erected in Lake Village and the North Newton High School building erected while he was the North Newton Corporation Superintendant. He also opened and organized the new administration office downtown Morocco during this time.
                From February 1, 1975 until December 31, 1975, Lawrence acted as the George Ade Hospital Administrator. While serving as head of the hospital, he worked out a salary schedule and a retirement plan for the hospital employees and the board of trustees adopted his proposal.
                Lawrence will celebrate his 50^th year in the Masonic Lodge in 1980. His is a member of the National Retired Teachers Association; the Indiana State Teachers Association; the American Association of Retired persons and the Newton County Retired Teachers Association. He is also a member of the United Methodist Church in Morocco.
                The Bannons have four children, eight grandchildren, two step-grandsons and one step-great-granddaughter.
                Jim is a management consultant for the Modern Management Methods, Inc. in Deerfield, Illinois. He and the former Sandra Sneed live in Barrington Hills, Il and are the parents of tree children, Holly, Candy and John William.
                Sally and her husband, James Nelson, live in Boulder City Nevada and are both high school math teachers. Jim’s son, Jimmy is attending medical school in Reno, Nevada and will soon become a doctor.
He and his wife Georgia are the parents of little Rebecca.  His son, Steve is working on his master’s degree in computer science.
                Nancy and her husband, Dr. Robert Kirchmeier, live in Holland Michigan where he is a chemical researcher for the Parke Davis Pharmaceutical Company. Nancy gave up the teaching profession to become a full-time mother to Ben, five, Sam, two and Katie one month.
                Debbie attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley for one and a half years and then returned to Indiana to become Mrs. Steve Storey. The Storey’s live on a farm near Morocco and are the parents of two children. Shane is four and Jenny is one year old.
                Lawrence and June celebrated their 40^th wedding anniversary last November.  I’ll bet he still thinks of her as that cute little chick who was a senior when he was a first year teacher.
 
Eva Baird, Baird’s Blues
Neighbors in profile
December 27, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
She’s worn several hats
                Eva Baird has worn several different hats over the past years. First as a career gal, then as a farmer’s wife who graduated to the position of businessman’s wife. Thirteen years later, she moved back to the farm where she remained for the next seventeen years. Then she made a final move to town and became a businessman in her own right.
                Eva was born on August 9, 1909 in Jackson Township to Opal and Arch Storey. She graduated from Morocco High School in 1927 and attended Lafayette Business College for one year .
                She worked in the Knights of Pythia Home in Lafayette for eighteen months and then returned home to Morocco to become the wife of Ray Baird. The Bairds were married on September 10, 1930 and Eva removed her career hat, donned a straw hat and settled down to being a farmer’s wife.
                There were four children in the Baird family, Betty, Loretta, Joan and Kenneth.
                Betty, born in 1931, is married to Jerry Monrie and they live in Huntsville, Arkansas. Her son, Dennis Rewerts is married to Debbie Jeffries and they have an eighteen month old son Joshua. The Rewerts live in Brook.
                Betty’s daughter Linda is married to Lynn Fenter and they live in St. Joe, Ill. The Fenters have a son Aaron, two years old. Jerry has four children, Kelly, Jerry, Carol, and Scott.
                Loretta was born in 1939 and is married to James Wagoner. They live in Oak View, California and are the parents of four children. Angela is attending college in Ventura, California, Kevin attends Thatcher High School and Andy and Karry are grade school students.
                Joan was born in 1942 and lives on a farm west of Morocco with her husband Dick Triplett. They are the parents of four children. Betty Joe is a sophomore at Manchester College; Lori is a junior at North Newton High School; Charlie is a sixth grader and Greg, a fourth grader in the Morocco Elementary School.
                Kenny born in 1950 is living on the Baird farm with his wife, the former Sharon Padgett and their three year old daughter, Cora Jane.
                Eva is a member of the Morocco United Methodist Church, Pythian Sisters and Easter Star. She served as Grand Chief of Pythian Sisters in Indiana in 1960-61.
                Her husband Ray passed away in 1972 and Eva remained on the farm for two years before moving to town in 1974.
                In 1976, she decided she needed something to occupy her time so she ventured into the world of business and opened Baird’s Blues.
                “I wasn’t a young lady,” said Eva, “when I decided to become a merchant but I knew I had to do something besides sit and rock my life away. Ray was gone and the children had their own homes; the days were long and the nights longer. Now I have something to keep me busy and young.”
                Baird’s Blues is a blue jean store on West State Street in downtown Morocco.
 
Larry Bingham, Printy’s Repair Shop
Neighbors in profile
September 20, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
“Mr. Fix-It”. Larry Bingham
                “You break it, we fix it,” said Larry Bingham, owner of Printy’s Repair Shop in Morocco. “I am surprised at some of the repair requests that come into the shop and if I’m in doubt as to how those repairs should be made, I’m not too proud to ask the opinion of the former owner.”
                Larry became the new owner of Printy’s Repair Shop five years ago when Bill Printy retired. He chose not to change the name of the business because, said Larry, “if the name was good enough for Bill, it was good enough for me. He is a great guy and I’m a better person for having known him.”
                Larry was born in Enos on April 24, 1939 and was the seventh of nine children born to Margaret and Harrison Bingham.
                He graduated from Morocco High School in 1956. When asked if he participated in sports during high school, he said girls were his sport. He went on to say that he was never even a Boy Scout, just a Girl Scout at heart.
                Following graduation, he was employed by Enos Grain, Styck Brothers and Merchant’s Cities Service before being drafted in 1962.
`               Larry was stationed in the army in Fort Know, Kentucky for two years and then returned to Morocco where he was employed by Parr Elevator for the next two years, after which he accepted a job at the Morocco Implement Company in Morocco where he was employed for nine years.
                He purchased Printy’s Repair Shop in 1974 and has in his employment, his son, Rick and Jim Wilson of Brook and the former owner Bill Printy worked for Larry for awhile after his retirement. “He still comes in on occasion,” said Larry, “and I really appreciate having him around. After all, it was his business for many years and he should feel free to come in to see how things are going.”           
                Larry also has a portable welder and spends a lot of time in the winter thawing frozen pipes for the people in and around Morocco.
                Larry likes to cook outside on the grill and he is learning to golf. “I always thought golfing would be relaxing,” he said, “but, man, that’s hard work hitting that little bitty ball around a great big pasture.
                Larry also like to travel and because time is so valuable when one is self employed, he and his wife recently joined a travel club so now they can “sneak” away for an occasional weekend without having to bother with travel plans or be gone for a great length of time.
                Larry and his wife, the former Judy Cady, were married on September 5, 1962. They are the parents of three children. Julie is married to Mike Bertram and they live in Griffith, Ind.; Rick works with his father in the shop and Debbie is a sophomore at North Newton High School. Larry has two daughters by a previous marriage. Dawn lives in Brook, Ind. and Denise is living in California.
                “When I bought the shop from Bill,” said Larry, “he advised me to work hard and to be fair and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. There is really never a dull moment in the shop and that’s just the way we like it.”
                Those who know Larry personally appreciate his sense of humor and his deep “belly” laugh is as infectious as the common cold. One can’t be around his jovial behavior very long without being affected by the germ of happiness.
 
Nellie and Leonard Bingham, Pullman Café
Neighbors in profile
September 11, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
 
Pullman Café called landmark
 
            The Pullman Café, located on Polk Street, has been a land mark in Morocco for many, many years.
            Before the new double lane US 41 was constructed to bypass the town of Morocco, Polk Street, better known as old US 41 was a heavily traveled road by north and south traffic.
            At that time, the Pullman Café was a popular dining spot for weary, hungry travelers.
            The café is still a popular place to “Sup and sip” but now the customers are mostly local residents with whom the managers have a first name relationship and the atmosphere is more “family” oriented than a tourist oasis.
            Nellie and Leonard Bingham, long time residents of Enos (a small town four miles north of Morocco) became the managers of the Pullman Café on March 17, 1969.
            For early risers, the Bingham’s begin serving breakfast at 5:30 a.m., Monday through Saturday and remain open until 4 p.m.   On Sunday, the café is open from 6 a.m. – 1 p.m.  Breakfast and lunch are served daily and the coffee pot is never empty during business hours.
            Leonard attended Enos Grade School and Morocco High School. He has always been a farm “lad” and during WWII, he drove a school bus as a substitute for his brother who was serving in a tour in the army.
            His wife, the former Nellie Speed Nenser of Saint Charles, Ky., attended school in Earlington, Ky. She withdrew from school at the age of 16 and traveled north to Kankakee County in Illinois where she met her future husband.         
            She and Leonard were married on December 17, 1942 in Momence, Ill. after which they lived with “Grandpa” Bingham in Enos until they built their new home just a “hop, skip and jump” from the home place seven years later.
            Leonard continued to farm and is still faming when he isn’t helping his wife in the café.
            Following their wedding, Nellie began her career as a full time housewife and in 1943 she became the mother of a baby boy, James Ray. Judy joined the family in 1944; Roy, Jan. in 1946; Rita Jo in 1948 and baby Ruth Renee arrived in 1949.
            Twenty years later, when the “chicks had flown the coop” and Nellie thought she hadn’t done enough cooking and dishwashing to last a life time, the Bingham’s became managers of the Pullman Café where Nellie has been chief cook and bottle washer for the past eleven years.
            Their first born, Jim is married to the former Linda Merriman of Morocco. They live in Plainfield, Ill with their four children where Jim is part owner of six stores and two warehouses.
            Judy and her husband James Henley live in Puducah, Ky. with their three sons and Roy lives in Peoria, Ill. where his is employed by the Caterpiller Company. He and the former Gloria Bricker of Momence are the parents of two children.
            Rita and Gary Tichacek of Morocco are the parents of three children and Ruth and her two children live in Paducah, Ky.
            The Bingham’s are happy businessmen and seem very content catering to the appetites of their clientele.
            “We have an awful lot of real good honest customers,” said Leonard, “and it’s a pleasure for us to know them.”
 
Clay Blaney, Spradling’s Store
Neighbors in profile
February 28, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
C. Blaney manager of 82-year old business
                Spradlings Sore in Morocco has been owned and operated only by relatives for the past 82 years.
                John D. Goddard built the store for his son, William, in 1898 who entered into a partnership with Dick McKinestry.  The store was then known as the Morocco General Store.
                About the turn of the century, John D Kessler, a nephew to J. D. Goddard, purchased the McKinestry interest and the firm became known as Goddard and Kessler.
                Elbert R. Kessler, John’s brother, purchased the Goddard interest in 1908 and the establishment became the Kessler and Company Store.
                In 1918, Elbert Kessler’s sons-in-law, Marvin Archibald and William Spradling bought J.K. Kessler’s interest. When Elbert Kessler died in 1934, William Spradling became the owner and the store became Spradlings.
                When Mr. Spradling died in 1950, his wife, Virginia, continued the business naming her son-in-law, Clay Blaney as the manager.
                Following the death of Virginia, Clay continued to manage the store for his wife, Martha and her sister, Mary Fowler until May 13, 1965 when the Blaney’s became full owners.
                 Clay Blaney was born on Feb. 23, 1923 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1941. He spent one year at Indiana State University in Terre Haute and the following year he attended the Indiana University Campus in Hammond.
                During WWII, he worked as a brakeman on the New York Central Railroad and in 1948; he became an employee of Spradlings Store.
                In 1944, he was married to Martha Spradling who also graduated from Morocco High School in 1941. She attended Indiana University until her marriage.
                Clay and Martha are the parents of two children, Dan, and Mary Sue and the proud grandparents of two darling little girls.
                Dan was born on July 11, 1945 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1963. He graduated from DePauw University in 1967 and from the Indiana University Law School in 1970. Dan is sharing in a partnership with the law firm of Sammons, Blaney and Casey in Morocco.
                He is married to the former Kendra Eiler of Kentland and they are the parents of Colleen, 6, and Mandy, 4.
                Mary Sue was born on Aug. 4, 1952 and is a 1970 graduate of North Newton High School. She graduated from Indiana University in 1974 and is employed as a buyer for the Nieman Marcus Department Store in Dallas, Texas.
                Her husband, Dr. Jim Blakley, is a radiologist at the Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas Texas.
                Clay is a member of the Morocco Lions Club, Knights of Pythias Lodge and the Masonic Lodge. He is also a member of the Hazelden Country Club.
                His favorite spectator sport is I.U. basketball games and his hobby is golfing.
 
Dick and Judy Brown, Brown’s Insurance and Judy’s Fabric Shop
Neighbors in profile
December 20, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Browns join forces             
                There’s no “bout a doubt” it, Judy and Dick Brown never have to worry about where one or the other can be found. They come to work together and go home together. In fact, they spend the whole day together.
                Dick can be found in his office at the Dick Brown Insurance Agency most everyday and Judy is a terrific “measurer of material” in her fabric shop which is located in the same building. When she isn’t helping someone with a sewing problem, she steps through the doorway and plays private secretary for her husband.
                It hasn’t always been that way for the Browns. When Dick first started in the insurance business 19 years ago, he started from the ground and worked his way up to his present situation. He wrote one insurance policy to begin with and while waiting for other clients, he farmed during the day and worked at the American Legion Hall at night.
                Judy kept the home fires burning, became a mother to three children and since his business office was in the home, she served as Dick’s right hand man during his absence.
                Six years ago, after Dick became firmly established in the business and the last little one was in school, Judy rented the front from of the Don Camblin building and became a business woman in her own right. Judi’s Fabric Shoppe became an asset to the town of Morocco and Judy was off and running in a career of her own.
                The couple purchased a larger building three years ago and remodeled the inside area to accommodate the two businesses. Two years ago, Dick became an Ennis Realtor and set up a Morocco branch office in connection with the insurance agency.
                Judy is the daughter of Sue and the late George Davis. She was born on Nov. 4, 1940 and attended Enos Grade School. She graduated from Morocco High School in 1958 and became a secretary for the Farm Bureau Insurance Company in Brook following graduation.
                Dick was born on Nov 26, 1932 and graduated from Mt. Ayr High School in 1951. He attended Purdue University for one year, spent the next two years in the army and then returned to Purdue for one more year. His third year college requirements were gained by him attending the Purdue Extension in Hammond during summer school and night sessions.
                “I’ve just never taken the time to go back for that last year of college,” said Dick. “Guess I’ll have to take the time one of these days and finish what I started.”
                Dick enjoys puttering around with wood and carpenter work as a hobby and Judy has an unusual hobby--- she likes to sew.
                He is a member of the Morocco Lions Club, the American Legion Post 146 and the Forty and Eight in Fowler. Judy belongs to a girls bunco club in the Enos area.
                They are the parents of three children. Craig, 20 is employed at the Enos elevator and is married to the former Rhonda Bennett of Michigan. Vincent is 16 and a junior at North Newton High School and Beth, 12 is a seventh grader at the Mt. Ayr Junior High School.
                And when the Browns have a little free time, they spend it with their delightful little grandson,  Richie, who is five month old.
 
Linwood Brown, Morocco State Bank
Neighbors in profile
May 1, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
“Money, Money Everywhere .. and Not a Cent to Spend”
                Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be surrounded by money and not be able to spend any of it?
                “No problem,” said Linwood Brown, president of the Morocco State Bank, “because no one will let me get my hands on any of it!”
                Lin was born on November 1, 1942, in Lewiston, Maine and in 1945, he and his family moved to Lake Village. He attended the Lake Village Grade School and is a 1960 graduate of Morocco High School.
                While in high school, he participated in football for two years, basketball for two years, and was a member of the band for three years and belonged to various school clubs and organizations.
                He spent one year at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill after which he went to work at the Ford Motor Company in Chicago Heights, Ill. where he was employed until 1965.
                Then he started the Newton Insurance Company in Lake Village and worked part-time in the Lake Village Branch of the Kentland Bank until he became bank manager in 1967.
                In 1976, the Roselawn Branch of the Kentland Bank became a reality and Lin became a traveling bank manager. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he was in Lake Village; on Tuesday and Thursday, he could be found in Roselawn and everyday was like a game of musical banks for Lin.
                When Steve Pluimer became the manager of the Roselawn Branch Bank, Lin breathed a sigh of relief and returned to him home bank in Lake Village.
                “The first Tuesday I didn’t have to go to Roselawn,” said Lin, “there was a hold-up at the bank in Roselawn. Just think I only missed a hold-up by one day!  
                On February 1, 1979, when Dave Cox became chairman of the board at the Morocco State Bank, Lin was offered the position as president of that bank where he has settled in nicely and is enjoying a good relationship with all the bank employees.
                He and the former Sharon Abraham of Morocco were married on January 9, 1965. Sharon is a Registered Nurse and is employed at the George Ade Memorial Hospital near Brook on a part-time basis.
                They are the parents of two sons. Pat was born on September 23, 1967 and is in the sixth grade. Mike was born on November 21, 1969 and is in the fourth grade. Both boys attend the Morocco Elementary School and both are quite involved in sports.
                Lin has been a Little League coach for six years which leaves very little time to go fishing. “But,” said Lin, “there will be plenty of time to go fishing when the boys are all grown up and out in the working world.”
                He also enjoys golfing and is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Morocco Lions Club.
                The Brown family attends the St. Augusta Catholic Church in Lake Village.
                “You know,” said Lin, “almost everything that’s good happened to me in an odd year. I moved to this community in “45, married my wife in’65, became manager of the Lake Village Bank in ’67, and became the father of a baby boy in’67, and again in ’69 and became the Morocco State Bank president in ’79. That either means I’m a lucky son-of –a-gun or I’m an “odd” one.
               
Don Bryant, Ace Hardware Store
Neighbors in profile
March 13, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Don Bryant is newest merchant
                The newest merchant in Morocco is Don Bryant who hails from Oxford, Ind.
                “I drove to Morocco looking for a place to open a Pizzeria,” said Don, “and found a hardware store instead.”
                Don made the trip to Morocco last fall and in early December, opened the Ace Hardware Store in the former Ben Franklin building on State Street.
                He was born on May 31, 1946 in Edinberg, Ind. and graduated from Edinberg High School in 1964.
                He received his Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Indiana State University in 1970 and received his teaching certificate in 1974.
                For the next three years, he taught Distributive Education in the Benton Central High School near Fowler during which time he started the Great American Fence Company in Lafayette where he sold and installed chain link and wooden fences. That business was sold in 1978.
                In 1977, Don bought Greeks Pizzeria in Attica and eight months later, he opened a Pizzeria in Oxford. Ten months after that grand opening, a Pizzeria was opened in Covington and the following year, he opened a Pizzeria in Williamsport. He has since sold three of the businesses with the last one in the process of being sold now.
                In 1979, Don started the Great American Flyers Company in Oxford where one can purchase books on flying. Most of the books in the store have been written by Don whose first book was entitled “Fly Free.”
                He was married to the former Linda Witt of Evansville on Feb. 14, 1970 and they are the parents of twenty month old Kathryn.
                Linda helps her husband in the business by being the bookkeeper and by clerking in the store occasionally.
                The Bryant’s live in Oxford having moved there following his graduation from college.
                Don is a member of the Oxford Lions Club and his hobbies include flying, skiing, sailing, scuba diving and racquet ball.


Thelma Bryant, A&P Store Manager
Neighbors in profile
July 26, 1979
By Donna Lacosse
Thelma Bryant managed the A&P
                “When you have been around as long as I have.” said Thelma Bryant, “you have seen a lot of changes take place, some good and some not so good.  Life just goes on: the changes come and go and you just kinda roll with the punches.”
                People, who have been acquainted with Thelma for a long time, know that is just what she does—she rolls with the punches and bounces back like a rubber ball.
                Thelma and her husband, Sam, moved from Rochester, Ind. to Morocco in 1921 and were the managers of an A&P Store for several years.
                Their store was located in the building where The Carrousel is now housed and was a far cry from the super markets of toady.
                Candy was sold for a penny a piece; pickles didn’t come in glass jars; coffee was sold in bean form and there was no fresh meat because there were no cooling devises.
                “That was a long time ago,” said Thelma, “but I still remember, just before coffee was rationed, how people bought bags of coffee beans and hoarded them. They were afraid they wouldn’t have enough ration stamps to purchase all the coffee they wanted and they didn’t think they could live without coffee. For a whole year after the rationing was over, those same people were bringing in their bags of coffee beans for us to grind.”
                Those were also the days when smoking tobacco came in a little cloth bag or in a tin can and everyone rolled their own cigarettes by hand. Thelma remembers vividly, the lady who came in quite often for her tobacco and while waiting for her order to be filled, she filled her pockets with candy and gum. If, by chance, Thelma saw her take the “treats” and asked if she wanted to pay for them, the lady would pay; otherwise, she would go merrily on her way with two purchases for the price of one.
                Then the depression came and with it came many problems.
                Delivery trucks couldn’t travel far from their warehouses because of the gas shortage and the lack of good tires made any trip hazardous so all the small A&P Stores in this area were closed and the Bryants were forced into yet another change.
                The Royal Blue chain of grocery stores apparently had more gas available, better tires for their trucks or perhaps a closer warehouse. Whatever the reason, they wanted to place a Royal Blue Store in this area.
                Thelma and Sam had the building, the know-how; Royal Blue had the merchandise and could deliver, so the Bryants were back in business.
                The store became more modern; cooling units were installed and fresh meat was made available for the consumer. Ground coffee could be purchased in a can and cigarettes came already packaged. And, there were glass candy cases to lessen the temptation of customers “borrowing” treats from the merchants.
                The Bryants remained with Royal Blue until 1943 when they sold the store to Geneva and Ray Russell and Sam put his time and energy into operating a Texaco Station in the same location the Downtown Texaco station is today.
                Due to ill health, Sam was forced to close the station a few years later and then he retired from the business world.
                Thelma Warner Bryant was born February 21, 1897 in Peru Ind. Her father died when she was eleven months old and she and her mother moved to Macy, Ind. where they lived with her grandparents.
                Soon after that move, Thelma’s mother contacted tuberculosis and they moved to Arizona. Then Thelma became ill because she couldn’t tolerate the Arizona climate and she was sent back to live with her grandparents in Macy.
                Thelma met Sam when she was in high school and they were married on December 4, 1915. They moved to Rochester where Sam worked in a bakery until he became allergic to the bakery products. Prior to the Morocco move, he worked in blue print factory and Thelma was busy with their two children.     
                Their son, Wyle De lives in Warsaw, Ind. He is married to the former Leisle Jones of Hartford City, Ind. and they are the parents of three sons.
                Gary is a minister in Lawrence, Kansas; Greg is a manager for the Girl Scout camp in Gilman, Ill. and Gene works in a music store in Champaign, Ill.
                Their daughter, Ruth married Tom Downs and they were the parents of a son. Ruth passed away early in 1974 and in September of the same year, Tom died. Their son, Mike, is a carpenter and a mechanic in Crown Point, Ind.
                Sam passed away on January 18, 1961 at the age of 71 and Thelma now makes her home in one of the retirement units on South Clay Street in Morocco.
                “I have two of the prettiest little great granddaughters you have ever seen,” said Thelma, “and maybe, in August, I’ll have my first great-grandson.”
               
Doug Camblin, Construction, Electrician
Neighbors in profile
October 16, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
“Jack-of-all-trades”
                “I guess you could call me a jack of all trades,” said Doug Camblin. “I can do almost anything, except play a musical instrument, if I really want to. My problem is time. There isn’t enough time to do all the things I want to do.”
                Doug, the son of Wiladine and Don Camblin, was born on January 28, 1942 in La Porte, Indiana.
He and his parents moved to Morocco when he was three years old and since his grade school days, he has been interested in electricity.
                After school every day, he would stop by the radio repair shop and ask Harold LaCosse a blue zillion questions. Once he was satisfied with the “lesson of the day”, he would trot home with some sort of non-repairable electrical appliance which was disassembled, piece by piece, to see how it was made and what made it work.
                He graduated from radios, irons, toasters and door bells while he was in junior high school and was promoted to television and stereo while he was in high school.
                He never ran out of questions and he never ran out of basement room. Of course, his mother couldn’t get into the basement but that didn’t seem to bother Doug. He just continued to do his own thing and live in his own little world.
                Doug graduated from Morocco High School in 1960. He attended Valparaiso Technical Institute for two years and returned home to work with his father in the electrical business. In 1968, he went into business for himself.
                He attended the Worthington - Climatrol Technical Training School for additional refrigeration courses in 197 and he attended the University of Wisconsin for a course in Solar Heating Design and Development in February of 1976.
                He assisted with the electrical, refrigeration, heating and cooling systems in the newly constructed Village Square Shopping Center in Lake Village and he designed and installed the heat reclaim refrigeration system in Allen’s Star Market in Roselawn.
                Doug has built six new homes in Morocco area and just recently designed and built solar heating system for his brother-in-law’s new home.
                He can and has designed several items of furniture for various people in the community as well as for his own home.
                He purchased the Morocco Car Wash in 1978 and gave the facility a massive face lift, which was an asset for the area. He is presently building a beauty shop which is located behind the Star Market in Morocco.
                “If I could do anything I really wanted to do,” said Doug, “I guess I would become a professional scholar. There are a lot of schools out there to explore and gain knowledge from but right now, I have neither the time nor the money to take advantage of what those schools have to offer.
                Doug said he enjoyed fishing as a hobby but would really rather spend his free time working on his home.
                “Our home was started ten years ago,” said Doug, “and it isn’t finished yet. Maybe it will never be just the way we want it but it’s a project that takes time and that’s what I don’t have enough of.”
                Doug and the former Janis  Deardurff were married on October 17, 1970 and they are parents of a son. Jeff was born on October 1976.
 
Pat Cardwell, Cardwell’s Funeral Home
Neighbors in profile           
August 2, 1979    
By Donna LaCosse
Cardwell-flying undertaker
                The life of a funeral director is not an easy one. Nor is the life of his family.
                Death is not a scheduled event and quite often family plans need to be cancelled because the grim-reaper has knocked at someone’s door.
                A mortician is on call twenty-four hours a day and his family has to be prepared to live an interrupted life.
                He is trained to expect the unexpected. He has to learn to accept the timely, the untimely and the tragic deaths which occur in his community.
                And he has to be in control of his emotions at all times because the call he receives might very well mean the death of a very close friend.
                It is a necessary profession and a rewarding one. And it takes a very special person to fill the shoes of a dedicated undertaker.
                “People have a misconception of the mortician’s profession”, said Pat Cardwell, the one and only funeral director in Morocco.
                “They naturally assume we spend our time working with the dead, when in fact, the dead require less attention that the living.”
                Pat’s first and only responsibility is to the family of the deceased.
                “I basically spend two or three hours of a three day period with the expired body,” said Pat., “the remaining time is dedicated to the survivors who are very much alive.”
                Pat said he enjoys his work and wouldn’t think of doing anything else.
                “I made a promise to my mother shortly before her death, that I would be the best darned undertaker I knew how to be and I think I’m doing just that,” said Pat, who at one time had planned to be a doctor.     
                When asked why he chose to become a mortician instead of a doctor, Pat, with an impish grin on his face, said, “I decided that instead of making mistakes, I would rather cover them up.”
                Patrick Cardwell was born May 27, 1949 in Kokomo, Indiana. He graduated from Kokomo High School in 1967 and attended Indiana State University for two years as a pre-med student.
                “Mother became ill and the money became scarce,” said Pat, “and I left Terre Haute, came home and entered Indiana Univ., Kokomo Extension where I carried seventeen class hours, worked full time as an orderly in a nursing home, worked part time for an ambulance service and there still wasn’t enough money.
                Then he heard that a funeral director in Greentown needed help. Pat applied for the job, was hired and soon discovered what he really wanted to do the rest of his life.
                Pat attended the Indiana College of Mortuary Science in Indianapolis for one year and served part of his apprenticeship at the Pickett Funeral Home in Greentown.
                In the meantime, Pat became re-acquainted with a girl he had gone to high school with but had never dated. A romance developed and he and the former Judy Collins were married in 1970.
                He completed his apprenticeship and his service internship at the Eller’s Mortuary in Kokomo after which he and Judy planned to move to Colorado and start a new life for themselves.
                Pat’s father had different ideas. Pat and Judy had a new baby boy and grandpa didn’t much care about his grandson living hundreds of miles away so the junior Cardwell’s decided to keep peace in the family and stay in Indiana.
                Pat told one of the salesmen who called at the Mortuary that he was hoping to locate in a small town and asked him to keep his ears open in case there was a Funeral Home for sale.
                A few days later, Jim Weston called Pat with the information that he had a Home for sale and invited him to come to Morocco for a visit.
                The Cardwell’s arrived in Morocco on a Thursday. They were giving a grand tour of the Weston Funeral Home and were very much impressed and interested.
                Then they drove downtown and parked on the main street so they could look the town over.
                Here were two young people from a large city, parked on a quiet street in a small town and stillness was almost unbearable.
                They saw a few cars parked along the curb but there was no activity what-so-ever. And there were no people.
                When Pat commented that he thought all the ghost towns were out west, he was quickly assured there was a population here and that it was only the merchants that went into hiding.
                “We fell in love with the town and have never regretted moving here,” said Pat. “We wanted to get out of the city and live in a small town and we have found our home in Morocco.”
                The Cardwell’s moved to Morocco and began their business on July 1 1973. They are the parents of two sons, Christopher, eight and Geoffrey, four.
                Pat had been taking flying lessons while he was in college but when his instructor was killed in a plane crash, he decided flying wasn’t the safest means of travel and the lessons stopped.
                Three years ago, he was in an automobile accident which nearly cost him his life. “And I knew I wouldn’t be dead until I hit the ground,” said Pat, “so I completed my flying lessons and received my license two years ago.” He received his instrument rating last February and has his plane housed in Kentland, ready for a fast get-away when time permits.
                Even though Pat is married to his business, he and his family manage to get away for a little rest and relaxation quite often. He is only a phone call and a few miles away from his business and with the plane, he can handle the time element nicely.
                When he and July fly off together, his father, Jim, comes up from Kokomo and serves a chief cook and baby sitter. It’s a much shorter trip driving to Morocco to enjoy his grandsons that it would be if he had to go to Colorado.
                So grandpa is happy with the decision Pat made six years ago and the community is equally as pleased that the Cardwell’s adopted Morocco as their home town.
 
John Calaway, Morocco Town Board President
Neighbors in Profile
January 17, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Tired after 28 years
                John Calaway, president of the Morocco Town Board for the past 28 years, retired from that position last fall because he thought it was time someone younger took over.
                “I’m just getting too old,” said John, “to have my sleep interrupted at night with phone calls pertaining to town board business.”
                John is to be commended for the interest he had in the government of the town and for his many years of service toward the betterment of the town and the people who live here.
                John is not a native of Morocco. He adopted this town as his home on March 5, 1944 when he came here as a Standard Oil agent.
                He retired from that position on April 14, 1969 and in 1970, he went to work for the Department of Natural Resources.
                John was born on April 14, 1904 in LaFontaine, Indiana.             He attended the Green Grade School, a little country school, near LaFontaine and graduated from LaFontaine High School in 1923.
                He attended Marion Business College for six months and then drove a livestock truck for the next ten years. He also served as a clerk for the LaFontaine Sale Barn and was employed by the commercial Motor Company in Marion for 15 years. Then he moved to Fort Wayne where he worked for General Electric for six months after which he moved to Morocco in 1944.
                John has served as Precinct committeeman for the Second Precinct in Beaver Township for 32 years and has been a delegate to the state convention for 33 years. He is a strong-minded Republican and is presently serving as the County Chairman for Ronald Reagan if he receives the nomination for President of the United States on the Republican ticket.
                “I’ve been involved in politics and have been a supporter of the Republican Party for a long time” said John “so I guess you could say politics is my main hobby.” He said he also enjoyed fishing and hunting when he had the energy and free time needed to participate in those two sports.
                He and the former Thelma L. Reason of Wabash, Ind. were married on March 28, 1935. Thelma is employed by the Morocco Courier where she talks on the phone Monday all day and until noon on Tuesday. Without Thelma, there would be fewer social notes for the Morocco area in the local newspaper.
                They are the parents of a daughter, Sherri Rose, who was born on December 1948. Sherri graduated from Morocco High School in 1967 and is employed at the Union Federal Trust, Savings and Loan Company in Indianapolis.       
                She was married to Jim Roberts on Sept. 21, 1974 and he is employed by the Kleinstine Machine Company in Indianapolis.
                John is a member of the Masonic Lodge, a past member of the Morocco Lions Club, a member of the Scottish Rites in Indianapolis and the Morocco United Methodist Church.
               
Ann and Bill Carpenter, Dunromin Ranch
Neighbors in profile
July 11, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Lawn and garden businessmen
                Dunromin Ranch, a lawn and garden shop in downtown Morocco is owned and operated by Ann and Bill Carpenter who live on a farm near Roselawn.
                The Morocco store, located in the old locker building, was a new business in April, 1979. However, the mother store near Roselawn opened for business in April, 1974. Both stores carry the name of the ranch formerly owned by Ann’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. B.C Alexander who purchased the land in 1937.
                Dunromin was the name given to the ranch by Ann’s father when he decided to retire as a traveling salesman and become the owner of registered cattle. In order to sell cattle from the herd he owned, he had to have a one word herd name that was different from any other registered cattle owners. Since Mr. Alexander was “done roamin”, he thought Dunromin was and appropriate name for his herd of cattle and his ranch.
                The lawn and garden shop was opened at the ranch site in 1974 when Bill was forced to retire as a crane operator following back surgery and was unable to do any heavy labor.
                Ann was born on December 23, 1942. She is a 1959 graduate of Mt. Ayr High School and a 1961 graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.
                She and her former husband moved from Missouri to the ranch in 1963 where they farmed and were engaged in the hauling and excavating business.
                When the Morocco Store was opened in 1979, the hauling and excavating business was sold and the Carpenters devoted all their time to the lawn and garden business.
                Bill was born on June 1, 1929 and graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in Mt. Vernon, Ill. in 1947. He was a long boom crane operating engineer for 26 years prior to becoming a businessman.
                Ann and Bill were married May 31, 1974.     
                Bill’s daughter Lenor, now Mrs. Robert Harmon, is 25 years old and lives in Virginia with her husband and two year old son, Daniel.
                The Watts children (Ann’s) include Ronald, 18, a 1980 graduate of North Newton High School; Missy, 17, a senior at North Newton; Penny, 14 a sophomore; Jeanne, 9, a fourth grader at Lincoln Elementary School and John, 6, a second grader in the same school.
                Ronald is employed at the Dunromin Lawn and Garden Shop.
                Ann and Bill are the parents of five year old Richard and four year old twins, William and Joseph.
 
Ernie Collins, Newton County Road Supervisor
Neighbors in profile
June 19, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Collins-man behind the men
                Ernie Collins is the man behind the men who keep the Newton County roads in good traveling condition.
                He was appointed to the position of Newton County Road Maintenance Supervisor in 1966 after having worked as a mechanic at the highway garage for four years.
                From 1974 to 1978, Ernie was the president of the State Supervisor Association. For the past two years, he has been associated with the Northwest Regional Health System. He has also served as administrator for the County C.E.T.A. program.
                Ernie was born on November 1, 1939 in Hammond. He attended first grade in the Hammond Public Schools and at the age of seven, he and his family moved to Enos where he completed his grade school education.
                He attended Morocco High School four years and graduated with the class of 1957.
                During the last two years of high school, he was employed at the DeKoker Ford Sales garage in Morocco on a part-time basis. Following graduation, he became a full-time employee with DeKoker.
                At the same time, he was employed by the Ford Corporation and traveled, when his talent was needed, all over the state of Indiana as a mechanic trouble shooter for Ford. He filled these two positions until 1964 at which time he began working for the county.
                Ernie is involved in the Newton County Civil Defense program and operates the public address system during the Newton County Fair each year.
                He enjoys snowmobiling in the winter and garden tractor pulling in the summer time.
                Ernie and the former Edwina Henry were married in November, 1976. The couple resides in their country home north of Morocco.
                Edwina is a radio operator for the Newton County Sheriff’s Department in Kentland. She is the mother of two children.
                Bill lives in Texas and Evelyn is a 1980 graduate of North Newton High School.
 
Permelia Carter, Morocco Telephone Operator
Neighbors in profile
July 12, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
She was your operator
                Remember the big old red brick house that once stood on the south east corner of the alley behind the People’s Drug Store?
                The building that always had a light in the window at night and a gang of kids playing in the yard all day?
                The place that visiting children from the city thought was an orphanage?
                That was the house in which the telephone office was located and the lawn in back of the house was used as a meeting place where parents picked up their children when they had to stay in town for some reason or other. No wonder the house on the corner resembled a home for orphans.
                That house was also the home of Permelia Carter, who spent 21 years of the 26 years she lived there as the night switchboard operator.
                Permelia and her late husband, Gordon, were born, raised and married in Scottsburg, Ind. They were married in the winter of 1924 and in 1926, they moved to Greenfield, Ind. where Gordon was a lineman for the telephone company.
                When he was promoted to plant manager, they moved to Upland, Ind. and then the depression came. People began to have their phones taken out because they couldn’t afford that kind of luxury and the Carter’s moved to Franklin Ind. where Gordon managed the Nehi Pop Bottling Company.     
                In the summer of 1931, he was re-hired by the phone company and moved his family to Morocco where he was the manager until 1945 when he was promoted to District Supervisor.
                Mrs. Carter became the night switchboard operator in July, 1936. She was paid $28 a month and worked eleven hours every night of the week. If and when she had a night off, she had to pay a relief operator 13 cents an hour from her own pay check.
                To qualify as a telephone operator, she was required to memorize between 400 and 500 phone numbers plus all the code rings for those on a party line.
                “I learned all the telephone numbers while walking the floor at night with a sick baby,” said Mrs. Carter, who also had to learn to sleep during the day and stay awake all night.
                There were party lines with as many as 14 phones on one line and each phone had a different ring. “All the rings sounded in each house and if someone lifted their receiver off the hook, the connection was broken and I had to start all over again with the code ring” said Permelia. She was also expected to know where people had gone when they weren’t home and when they would return home.
                Mrs. Carter said a general ring was sent out on all the lines when Mr. Hayworth arrived in town with fresh fruit from Michigan, “and then everyone came to town to buy fruit and it was just like a holiday celebration.”
                The switchboard was always decorated with slips of paper listing phone numbers where people could be reached in an emergency and they weren’t home. And there were those who didn’t have an alarm clock and Permelia would have to awaken them with a phone call in the morning.         
                When a fire call came in, it was the responsibility of the operator to notify all the firemen and to sound the general alarm.
                “And then the switchboard would light up like a Christmas tree,” remembered Mrs. Carter. Everyone wanted to know where the fire was, how it started and how bad it was. When the phone company was sold to Bell and we (operators) weren’t allowed to give out that information, we really had to endure some abusive language.”
                The Carter girls spent a lot of time at the switchboard but they never worked as an operator. “That was the best place in the house to do our homework,” said one of her daughters, “without Mother’s supervision; we might not have had our lessons ready for school the next day.”
                The girls also learned at an early age to always be home at the expected time, ’cause no one could “slip” in at night when their mother was always up. They also had to learn patience, especially at Christmas when the opening of gifts had to wait until Mother was relieved from the switchboard.
                “The one thing I never got use to” said Mrs. Carter, “was having people come in at all times of the day and night, to pay their phone bill.” For ten years, people traveling the highway would stop for information or to make a phone call. The doors were never locked and I never knew who might stop in.
                Then a pay phone was installed in the hall and Permelia could lock the door between the hall and the office but then she never knew who might wander up the stairs where her husband and her daughters
were sleeping.
                She remembers vividly, the Easter ice storm on April 9, 1951, when all the lines were down and she accompanied her husband, over the ice covered roads, to Fowler before they found lines up so they could call for help. Linemen came from Greenfield and Noblesville and lived with the Carter’s until all the repair work was completed.
                Mrs. Carter retired in October 1957, when the change to an automatic phone service went into effect. She and her husband moved to Lafayette and after three months, returned to Morocco for the winter. Then they moved to Scottsburg where they managed a hardware store for six years.
                In 1964, they returned to Morocco, and Mr. Carter retired. He passed away in 1972. Mrs. Carter is the mother of four daughters who all attended school and were married in Morocco.
                Ida Jean and her husband, Dale Anderson, live on a farm near Brook. They have four children and seven grandchildren.
                Marilois and Milt Anderson have three children and three grandchildren and live in Morocco.
                Mrs. Barbara (Bobbie) Parsons is the mother of two children and one grandchild. She and Gene live in Concord California.
                Betty and her husband Millard Northcutt live in Elwood, Ind. and are the parents of four children and two grandchildren.
 
Ruth Corbin, Teacher
Neighbors in profile
September 6, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Ruth Corbin-history buff and teacher
 
                Ruth Corbin, history buff, teacher, scholar and sweet lady. She can tell you more about the history of this community in an hour than you would ever read in the history books.
                She is interesting to talk to but more fascinating to listen to. Listening to her is like living in a time capsule. One is carried back through time to the good old days and then slowly brought back to the present time.
                So, where do we begin? Probably back to the frontier days when her parents, Ella Sell and Henry Corbin, immigrated to Newton County.
                The Sell family moved to Kentland from Bunker Hill, Kansas by covered wagon and the Corbin family originally came from Virginia.
                “In fact,” said Ruth, “Bunker Hill is near Russell, Kansas where the Covered Wagon Festival was held earlier this month. They even delivered the mail by pony express during the festival days. I would have loved going to the celebration but I couldn’t find anyone as crazy as I am to go with me.
                Her parents were married in 1895 and moved to Morocco. Ruth is still living on the home place but not in the same house. The old house was torn down and a new one built in 1901.
                Her great-grandfather, Travis Dolman Corbin, came to Morocco from Virginia for seven winter sessions and taught at the old Pull and Haul School. For those who are not acquainted with this school, it was a one room building that was moved from corner to corner to accommodate the family who had the most children going to school at that particular time. Since the school was moved quite often, it was very cleverly named the Pull and Haul School.
                “My great-grandfather was known as a temperamental teacher,” said Ruth. “It was often said that if he was in a good mood, you couldn’t hear it thunder. But if he was mad, you could hear a pin drop.”
                Ruth’s father, who passed away in 1954, was the Beaver Township Trustee in the early 1900’s and was the Sunday school superintendent at the United Brethren Church for 25 years. Her mother passed away in 1941.
                Ruth celebrates her birthday on November 29. She has a brother, Lawson Corbin, who lives on a ranch near Lamar, Colorado and a sister, Grace, who lives with her husband, D.W. Grossman in Knightstown, Indiana.
                                Ruth graduated from Morocco High School in 1916. She attended Indiana Central in Indianapolis for 1 ½ years. She returned to Newton County and taught for three years in the one room schools of Spitler in Washington Township and West Union in Beaver Township, followed by two years of teaching at the Morocco Grade School.
                Then she was bitten by the wander lust bug and moved to Del Norte, Colorado for a year where she taught Mexican children, ranging from 6 to 18 years of age.
                Following the year in Colorado, Ruth moved to Lafayette where she taught in a grade school for six years and then took a leave of absence for two years. She returned to Boulder, Col. where she received her B.A. Degree from the University of Colorado in 1928.
                Then the wandering Ruth returned home to Morocco and taught High School Government, Economics, World History and U.S. History for 32 years. She retired from the teaching profession in 1962.        
                During this time, she attended summer school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and received her master’s degree in 1936. She also attended Chicago University and Purdue University during summer sessions for special training in different subjects.
                In 1950, she received a scholarship for a three week seminar on the United Nations in Upper Montchair, New Jersey after which she presented 150 talks (concerning the United Nations) in 18 towns over a period of several years.
                The last 14 years she taught, she sponsored a Student Legislature for sophomore, junior and senior students. The students were divided into different committees with each committee having a chairman. Each committee prepared and debated their own bills; the session lasted for a day and a half.
                Community advisors and congressmen were invited to attend. Other schools were also invited and often came to the session.
                Ruth sponsored a History Club for several years. The club won an award one year for being the most outstanding Junior Historical Society in the state of Indiana. She also sponsored the school paper at Morocco High for 32 years. In 1951, she wrote the history for the Morocco Centennial book.
                She serves on the Newton Co. Council on the Aged and Aging and on the State Advisory Council on the Aged and Aging. She is a member of the organization of American Historical Society, the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, the Purdue Chapter of the United Nations Association and the Nation Retired Teachers Association.
                Ruth is as busy now as she was when she was teaching school. She is very active in community and church activities and has taught an adult Sunday school class at the United Methodist Church since 1969. She also enjoys painting in oils.
                “I can always find something to do,” said Ruth, “just raising flowers and pulling weeds keep me busy.”
                When asked if she thought our town had changed much over the years, she said she didn’t think it had. She has travel in all the states except two and said so many small towns had become ghost towns and it was evident Morocco had not reached that stage.
                “Our town is better off than most small towns,” said Ruth. “They can’t boast of having two active elevators and a New York Central Railroad and we can.”
                She said that during her travels, she had found that the county seat towns were the most progressive. “But,” said Ruth, “as a business town, we are about average. We keep getting new stores to replace the merchants who leave and I think that is progress.
                Ruth was born in Morocco. She has lived her for many years and when she says this is a nice place to live, you can bet your bottom dollar it is just that-a nice place to live.
 
James “Jimmy” Daddow, Daddow’s Harness Shop
Neighbors in profile
December 13 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Leather art is his livelihood
                Jimmy Daddow is just about ready to celebrate another business anniversary. On January 9, he will chalk up 63 years in the leather business and is the oldest businessman in Morocco.
                Jimmy is an Englishman. He left his home in Cornwall, England on February 5, 1914 and settled in Morocco where he opened a shoe repair shop. In 1917, he formed a partnership in the harness business with Horace Irwin and when Mr. Irwin died in 1930, Jimmy purchased the Irwin share of the business.
                He has been in the same business in the same location for all these years and holds the record as being the oldest businessman in Newton County.
                He began learning the leather trade at the ripe old age of seventeen and was trained as a shoemaker while still living in England.
                He began learning the leather trade at the ripe old age of seventeen and was trained as a shoemaker while still living in England.
                Earlier in his career, he was proficient in constructing leather shoes, preferring hand stitching rather than the stitching made by a machine. He even made his own thread by waxing and rolling two or three strands of linen thread together and smoothing them down with a piece of fine leather.
                This is a lost art. There are very few men in today’s world who can boast of being skilled in the leather field.
                For many years, people from all over the United States, came to Jimmy to have their harnesses made. But now, there are fewer horses in the country and Jimmy is a little older, he fills his work day by repairing small leather items. He also constructs and sells a few leather novelties and is always available for a friendly chat with old and dear friends.
                Jimmy, who recently celebrated his 90^th birthday, can be seen daily in his quaint little shop on West State Street in Morocco. A visit to this shop is quite an experience. All the old tools used for constructing beautiful leather goods can be seen there and if closely examined, one could probably fine the imprint of Jimmy’s fingers permanently embedded in the handles of the tools he has used for so many years.
                He is a member of the United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Men’s Club. Jimmy is a charter member of the Morocco Lions Club and has been a member of that club for forty-nine years.
He was recently honored by the Lions Club and was presented a plaque in recognition of his faithful service to the organization.
                He and the former Cecile Deardurff were married on November 4, 1916 and recently celebrated 63 happy years of marriage.
                They are the parents of one daughter, Roberta, who is married to Grant Johnson. The Johnsons live near Donovan and are the parents of three children and a foster son.
                Garry Johnson is the owner and operator of the Donovan Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Store. He is married to the former Janice LaReau and they are the parents of James, a student in Radiology in the Kankakee Community College and Eric, a freshman in the Donovan High School.       
                The former Judith Johnson is married to George Miller and they live on a farm near Rensselaer. Their son John is a sophomore in high school; daughter Kimberly is in the eighth grade and son Darren is a fifth grader.           
                Elizabeth Johnson is a registered nurse in the Brokaw Hospital in Normal, Ill, and their foster son, Dennis Spencer is in the United States Army stationed in Germany.
                “I contributed my long business career to my education,” said Jimmy. “I graduated from the school of hard knocks and majored in honesty, courtesy and integrity.” Jimmy said he had a lot of friends and even though he was born in England he considers Morocco his home.
               
Bonnie Deardurff, Morocco Post Office Mistress
Neighbors in profile
November 29, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
               
Bonnie Deardurff serves P.O. patrons 41 years
 
                Bonnie Deardurff has been a familiar figure in the Morocco Post Office forever. Well, almost forever – five days after she graduated from Morocco High School in 1938, she started working in the post office as a clerk.
                That was 41 years ago and she’s still going strong. “I don’t think I’m moving quite as fast as I was a few years ago,” said Bonnie, “but I’m still moving and, to me, that’s important.”
                She became the postmaster on January 1, 1974 following the death of Les Lontz and is continuing to enjoy seeing and visiting with the general public.
                “I like people,” said Bonnie, “especially the school kids. They stop in here after school and really talk up a storm. You would be surprised at some of the things they tell me – and so would their parents.”
                The former Bonnie Hammel was born on December 2, 1920 in Morocco. She played girls basketball in high school and is still an avid sports fan. “I like all sporting activities,” said Bonnie “We used to go to all the local high school games but for the past few years, our sporting events have been viewed from the comfort of an easy chair in our own home, thanks to television.” She also reads the sports pages in the daily and weekly newspapers.
                Bonnie is a member of the Morocco United Church and of the Morocco American Legion Auxiliary.
                She was married to Carl Deardurff on February 25, 1941. Carl, commonly known as “Dutch” was a bookkeeper for Lon Skinner for several years.  He also managed the Dyer Construction Company for five years before becoming the town clerk in Morocco.
                “I guess the most amusing thing that has happened to me” said Bonnie “is the fact that I’m so often mistaken for Donna Morgan. I’ve had people ask me if I were she and people have asked Donna if her sister worked in the post office. In fact, the situation became so humorous, her husband, Stanley use to call me ‘Sister Bonnie’ all the time.”
                “Perhaps it’s true, what they say that everyone has a twin somewhere,” said Bonnie, “but isn’t it strange we would both live in the same town?”
 
Galen Deardurff, Deardurff Motor Sales
Neighbors in profile
November 8, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Up to his ears in kids
                “You don’t have to be crazy to drive a school bus,” said Galen Deardurff, “but it sure helps.”
Galen has been driving a school bus for over 25 years and should be commended for still having a sense of humor and his sanity.
                Sandwiched in between his bus schedules, Galen repairs damaged radiators and pumps gas at Deardurff Motor Sales on North Polk Street in Morocco.
                He was born to Katherine and Evan Deardurff on January 23, 1920 and attended Morocco Grade School. During high school, he played in the band and participated in football, basketball and track. He graduated from Morocco High School in 1938 and then moved to Chicago where he was employed by Dealers Transport. Later, he was transferred to Pullman’s Standard in Chicago where he worked as a lathe operator.
                Galen entered the army in February, 1942 and was discharged in October 1945. While he was in the army, he attended Machinist and Mechanics School in St. Louis.  After completing the schooling, he was sent to Fort Hood, Texas where he worked in the army heavy engineer maintenance department.
                Following his discharge, he returned to Morocco and went into business with his father who owned a gas station.
                A garage was built onto the station in the spring of 1946. The father-son team added two car agencies to their business and sold Willy’s Jeep and was a Pontiac dealer.
                In 1958, Galen attended Radiator School in Omaha Nebraska and after completing that course they added a radiator repair service to their business operation after which they gave up their car dealership in 1959.
                Galen sold and repaired chain saws and lawn mowers from 1962 until the spring of 1979 and is presently involved in radiator repair and is up to his ears in kids-those who ride a bus to and from school.
                He and the former Maurine Tittle of Lampasas, Texas were married on December 8, 1943 and are the parents of two children and have one grandchild.
                Janis is married to Doug Camblin who lives near Morocco. Jan graduated from Morocco High School in 1965 and was employed at the Peoples Drug Store for ten years prior to becoming a mother. She and Doug are the parents of Jeff who was three years on October 9.
                George, a 1979 North Newton graduate, is a 1975 graduate of Purdue University and is a pharmacist at Hooks Drug Store in Rensselaer.
                “As a hobby,” said Galen, “I collect coins but most of my free time is spent playing with my grandson. Isn’t that what grandfathers are for?”
               
Denny Deardurff, Deardurff Oil Company
Neighbors in profile
November 22, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
 
“Denny” messes in oil
                Dennis Deardurff, owner of the Deardurff Oil Company in Morocco was born and raised here and is living proof that a young man doesn’t have to leave home to make good.
                Denny was born on September 17, 1944 and is the only son of Irene and Ernest Deardurff.
                He graduated from Morocco High School in 1962 and served as the editor of the school yearbook during his senior year. He also played football and basketball during his high school years.      
                Following graduation, he worked for the Eastern Illinois Clay Company in St. Anne for one year after which he was employed by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company. While working for NIPSCO, he helped install the gas lines in this area.
                When that job was completed Denny went to work for the Standard Oil Company in Kentland where he remained for four years. When the new plant was built in Foresman, he was transferred to that plant for a one year term.
                When John Calaway retired from Standard Oil in April 1969, Denny became the manager of that plant.
                In 1975, Denny went into a jobber ship which means he owns his own business consisting of the bulk plant, oil trucks and the equipment.
                From 1964 until 1970, he was in the National Guards stationed in Fort Jackson, South Carolina for eight weeks and in Fort Ord, California for four months training. Following his basic training, he was allowed to live and work at home. At that time, National Guardsmen completed their term of service by attending camp two weekends each month and two weeks of summer camp each year.
                “They were long weekends, too,” said Denny. “They started on Friday and ended Sunday night and were anything but fun.”
                Denny and the former Shirley Storey were married on February 19, 1966 and are the parents of two children. Danny was born on October 12, 1968 and Deena was born on July22, 1971.
                Denny is a member of the Morocco Lions Club, Knights of Pythias Lodge, American Legion Post146, and the Methodist Men’s Club.
                “I’m one of those rare, fortunate businessmen,” said Denny. “My secretary is a jewel. She can sit on my lap anytime she wants, just as long as she answers my phone, keeps my books, cooks my meals, washes my dirty clothes and takes care of my kids.               
                In my opinion, only a wife would qualify for that job.”
 
Maynard Derflinger, Maynard’s Garage
Neighbors in profile
October 25, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Derflinger, farmer’s handyman
                “It seems like I’ve been working all my live,” said Maynard Derflinger, owner of Maynard’s Garage in Morocco. “I’ve worked a lot of places and for a lot of people, but I think what I’m doing now is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.
                When Maynard was in high school, he was employed at Bridge’s Bakery, the first and last Bakery ever in Morocco. He worked before and after school and during the summer months.
                Following his sophomore year, he moved to Chicago where he worked as a carpenter during the day and at night, he worked in a machine shop.
                He kept that pace up for two years and then moved back home where he served as a farm hand for several people in the community.
                Then he spent two years as a long distance hauler for a trucking firm in DeMotte.
                In 1961, he went to work as a mechanic for the Milt Storey Implement Company in Morocco where he remained for the next nine years.
                “I always wondered what it would be like to be my own boss,” said Maynard, “and I wondered if I could make it on my own.”
                Maynard got that chance in 1970 when he went into business for himself, serving as a mechanic for the farmers in and around the community. He also provides a wrecker service for this area which demands a lot of his time, especially the time he should be sleeping.
                In 1971, while he was working on a tractor, a piece of steel became embedded in one eye and he spent several weeks in the hospital. The steel was removed and so was the sight in that one eye.
                “That’s when I discovered that I had several really good friends.” said Maynard. “They came in and finished the repairs I had started before my accident and I didn’t have a big back log of mechanic work to do when I was able to go back to work. I’ll never forget and I’ll always be grateful for what they did to help me when I couldn’t help myself.”
                Maynard and the former Bea Daniels of Rensselaer were married on July 20, 1963. With the marriage, he became an instant father and now he is a doting grandfather of two.
                Their daughter Roberta married Mike McClure of Pine Village and they were the parents of a daughter, Michelle who is nine years old. Roberta passed away on August 20, 1975 and Michelle came to live with Grandma and Grandpa Derflinger.
                Tony Daniels, son number 1, is married to Monica Styck of Lake Village and they are the parents of nine months old Scott. Tony and his family reside in Morocco.         
                Son Joe Daniels recently moved back to Morocco having lived in Texas for the past year.
                Maynard is a volunteer fireman and he loves to fish. He also likes to have fun.
                One could say that when Maynard plays, he plays hard and when he works, he works hard and that kind of balances out to equal a well-adjusted life.
 
Parade of Hair Dressers
Neighbors in profile
March 27, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Parade of new hairdressers
                If the ladies in and around Morocco are not beautiful, it is not because of lack of beauticians.
                In fact, we not only have the veteran operators who have been in business for many years, but we are well blessed with young hairdressers as well.
                Young ladies who are career women in their own right at the same time they are raising a family and keeping the home fires burning.
                The good Lord knew what he was doing when he gave young people an abundance of energy. Only young and energetic people could stand the stress and strain.
                This week we have a parade of hairdressers to introduce as young business people within the town of Morocco.
                The youngest of the lot is Brenda Dawson who was born on September 30, 1956. She graduated from North Montgomery High School near Crawfordsville, Ind. in 1974 and is a 1975 graduate of the Lafayette Beauty Academy.
                Following her graduation, in 1976 she worked in two beauty shops before opening her own shop, the Beauty Barn Salon, in Crawfordsville.
                On July 28, 1979, she married Jake Dawson of Morocco and moved here to join the newlywed game. Jake is associated with the Dawson Farm Center located south of Morocco.
                Brenda likes to do craft work as a hobby and enjoys decorating her new home. She and Jake are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child who is due in April.
                Her shop, Bren’s Wash Basin, was opened in February and is located in her home on state road114.
                Nancy Deardurff Wynn is the owner and operator of “The Hair Loft.” She opened her new shop in October 1979 after chalking up a few years of experience while working for other operators.
                Nancy was born on Nov. 13, 1950 and is a 1969 graduate of North Newton High School. She graduated from Rudea’s School of Beauty Culture in Lafayette in 1970 and served her apprenticeship at Peg’s Beauty Shop in Morocco.
                In 1971 she began working for Ineta Antcliff in the Brook Beauty Shop, a shop she purchased in 1972 and sold in 1974 when she decided to be a full-time mother and housewife.
                She married Dale Wynn on December 12, 1970 and they are the parents of six year old Christopher Tyler. Dale is a Masonry Contractor and is employed by the S and K Masonry Company in Highland.
                Nancy likes to read and work with Macramé. She also enjoys free-hand painting when she has time.
                Her shop is located in her home on East Beaver Street.
                Wife of one and mother of two, Georgiana Roadruck is the owner and operator of “Coiffeurs Unlimited” which is based in her home on East State Street.
                Georgiana was born on July 24, 1947 and is a 1965 graduate of Mt Ayr High School. She graduated from Hammond Beauty College in 1966 and served her apprenticeship with Marge David in Lake Village.
                She married Charles Roadruck on May 22, 1966 and opened her beauty shop in 1971. Charlie is a switchman at Inland Steel in East Chicago.
                Georgiana enjoys flower gardening, sewing and doing needlepoint as a hobby.
                Last, but not least, is Marsha Warrick who opened “The Styling Stall” on February 5, 1980. Her shop is located just south of Allen’s Star Market on State road 114.
                Marsha was born on November 14, 1945 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1964. She attended Mary Crest business College in Kankakee for nine months and graduated from Hammond Beauty College in 1966.
                She served her apprenticeship under Jan Stoner in Morocco (who has since moved to Kankakee) and has worked as a beautician for Lois Cady Fox and Maxine Garmong. She has also been a fill-in hairdresser for several shop owners in this area while they were on a much deserved vacation.
                She has also served as a substitute teacher in the Morocco and Mt. Ayr Grade Schools.
                Marsha was married to Joe Warrick on August 28, 1965 and is the mother of two children. Eric is thirteen and Heather is five. Joe is a farmer in the Morocco community.
                She enjoys golfing in the summer and was president of the Ladies Golf Section at the Hazelden Country Club last summer. During the winter months, she is an avid snowmobile enthusiast.
 
R. Vernor Ellis, Morocco Courier Publisher/Owner
Neighbors in Profile           
July 5, 19979       
By Donna LaCosse
R. Vernor Ellis, former publisher
                At a ripe old age of 17, R. Vernor Ellis was the youngest editor in the United States. He began his
Career in Louisville, Illinois in 1909 and ended his many years as being the “boss” of a newspaper in 1976.
                Not only was he the youngest editor, he also had the shortest job in history at one time. Early in his career, he was hired to do a job printing business forms and at that time, all the printing was hand set, letter by letter, which wasn’t completed in a matter of minutes. When he pulled the letter trays from the case, he discovered all the trays were empty. When he asked where the letters were, his boss said he had dumped them all in a tub so they wouldn’t be spilled on the floor. Now, you have to understand, these letters ranged in size from one eighth of an inch to one and a half inches in height and are arranged in trays according to size.
                “There was no way I was going to sort all those letters out.” said Vernor, “why there must have been a million pieces in that tub, so I put my hat on and walked out, and that job lasted for fifteen minutes.”
                The son of a Christian minister, Vernor was also a minister, beginning at the age of eighteen. After three years, he decided to confine his talents to the newspaper business and let his father do the preaching.
                Mr. Ellis was the editor and publisher of the Crown Point Register before purchasing the Morocco Courier from Allen Augustin in November 1949. At that time, the Morocco Courier was a Republican Publication.
                He and his wife, the former Lee Bohler were newlyweds, and having been married the previous year, when they moved to Morocco. They have made their home at 532 East Beaver Street for the past several years.
                Mrs. Ellis, working side by side with her husband, was the chief linotype operator until the early 1960’s when a second machine was added to the newsroom and Dick Gilbert was employed to assist with the type setting.
                About this time, an automatic paper folder, a cutting machine and an addresser were installed in the newsroom.
                Lee not only set the type for the Morocco Courier but for several other publications from nearby communities including the Morocco School paper.
                In 1951, the Ellis’ purchased the Kentland Democrat and in 1954, the two papers were consolidated and the Courier was changed to the legal Democratic Publication.
                The first book exchange in the area was started by the Ellis duo soon after they arrived in Morocco. Book shelves were built along one wall in the office and 90 paper- back books were made available for the avid readers in the community.
                All on needed to obtain a book were two books tucked under their arm when they came in the door and they could leave the building with one book. If they had no books to trade, a single dime could buy one book.
                When the Morocco Courier was sold to Keith Robinson of the Rensselaer Republican in July of 1976, the 90 books had multiplied to 6,000.
                Mr. Ellis is the father of three daughters. Betty Ann Potter lives in Hammond Indiana and Pat Hall and Bobbi Maroney reside in Salem, Ill.  He has six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.         
                Mrs. Ellis has two daughters. Jean (Bohler) Hardy and her husband Ralph, live in Wright City, Missouri. Carol (Bohler) Dawson and her husband Dale, live just outside the city limits of Morocco. Lee has five grandsons and thinks a great-granddaughter would be a mighty nice addition to the family one of these days. Vernor, as he is known by most everyone in the community, is still a familiar figure at the Morocco Courier where he is kept busy setting ads for the weekly publication.
 
Sharon Farwell, Sharon’s Beauty Shop
Neighbors in profile
September 27, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Sharon Farwell, the “Magic Lady”
                Sharon Farwell, the lady with a magic touch, is the owner and operator of Sharon’s Beauty Shop at 155 East Wabash Street in Morocco.
                She has been elbow deep in the shampoo bowl for the past five years and probably has the cleanest hands on the block.
                She transforms dowdy, bedraggled ladies into women of beauty with the magic touch of her fingers.
                “I really enjoy my clients,” said Sharon. “They are really great. Each one is different and each one is a challenge. You might say, these ladies are my hobbies. There’s a sense of self-satisfaction when a customer walks out of my shop feeling good about herself because of something I’ve done.”
                Sharon enjoys reading when she can find the time. She also likes to knit and crochet, however, most of her non working hours are filled to capacity with her children’s activities.
                She is a member of the Morocco PTO and has been a room mother several times. And at one time, she was a Brownie leader when her daughter Stacey was a Brownie Scout.
                Sharon was born on June 24, 1948 and is the only daughter of Carrie and Chuck Goddard of rural Morocco.
                She attended grad school in Ade and high school in Brook. She graduated from the Broadway Beauty School in Kankakee, Illinois in 1974.
                Sharon and Larry Farwell of Coldwater, Michigan were married on July 22, 1978 and are the parents of six children.
                The Farwell children live in Owasso, Michigan. Brian 18 is out of school; Bruce, 16, is a sophomore in high school and Doug, 7, is in the second grade.
                Sharon’s children reside in Morocco with their mother and step-father. Stacy, 14, is a freshman at North Newton; Jeff, 11, is in the sixth grade and Carrie, 7, is a second grader in the Morocco Elementary School.
                “Just keeping up with the kids is a big job,” said Sharon. “Doug spent the summer with us and there was something going on all the time. There’s never a dull moment around here which is good because I just don’t have time to be bored.”
 
Lillian Floyd, Morocco Librarian
Neighbors in profile
October 9, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Shhhh! Quiet in here, please
                Morocco residents and people in the surrounding community can thank their lucky stars for the likes of Lillian Floyd. Without her, everyone who enjoys reading would be in big trouble.
                Every library needs a knowledgeable librarian. The Morocco Public Library is headed by a very dedicated woman.
                The town hasn’t always been so lucky. At one time, books for the public use were housed in the town hall with only the town clerk on hand to give assistance to those who wanted to borrow the books for their reading pleasure.
                In 1964, the public library was moved into the former post office building at the corner of State and Clay Streets downtown Morocco. Lillian, who had extensive experience in library work, was asked to help arrange the books for public use.
                Once the library was open, the wife of one of the ministers was planning to serve as the librarian and Lillian was going to go back into retirement. So much for the plans of men and mice. Before the library was completely moved and arranged, the minister was transferred to another post and Morocco was without a librarian.
                Lillian was approached and after a lengthy discussion with her husband, she agreed to accept the position as librarian on a part-time basis. This worked out fine with the Newton County Contractual Library board because there are not sufficient funds available to pay a full-time librarian.
                The library is open from 9 until 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and on Saturday morning from 9 until noon.  It is closed all day on Thursday.
                Lillian was born in Medford, Wisconsin on February 17, 1914. She graduated from Medford High School in 1932 and attended County Teachers Institute for one year. Since these were the depression years, she was not given a teaching position and was forced to seek employment elsewhere.
                In 1938 she became the assistant librarian at the Medford Public Library where she remained until 1942 when she became the head librarian. At this time, she attended the University of Wisconsin for a six week course in librarian instruction.
                She continued as the librarian until December 31, 1948 when she accompanied her new husband to his farm east of Morocco. At this time she decided to concentrate her efforts on being a good wife and join the ranks of the unemployed. Little did she know her retirement would only last a mere 16 years.
                Lillian and Paul Floyd were married on November 23, 1948. He was an iron worker at the Steel Mills in Gary and was introduced to his future wife by one of her cousins with whom he worked. Paul retired in 1972 but has no objections to Lillian working 17 hours a week.
                “For those who don’t know how the Newton County Contractual Library is set up” said Lillian, “perhaps I should explain. The mother library is in Lake Village. All the books are processed in that library and then distributed to the branch libraries in Morocco, Mt. Ayr and Roselawn. The salaries for the librarians and the building rent are paid for by the Newton County contractual Library. All other expenses such as painting and janitorial work are paid for by friends of the library and by the different organizations who donate money to the library.”
                Lillian added that the Newton County Contractual Library is funded by township tax money. Regardless of the lack of funds, the Morocco Library has a wide selection of books to choose from and is indeed fortunate in having Lillian and the “quite pleas” librarian in charge.
 
Dave Hensel, Hensel’s TV
Neighbors in profile
May 29, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
TV illnesses cured by Dr. Dave Hensel
                One of the newer businessmen in town is Dave Hensel who is a Moroccan by choice and not by birth. Perhaps his reason for adopting Morocco as his home was because he married a native girl. Whatever his reason, the decision was apparently the right one since he appears to have become well established in the community.
                Dave is the local television technician whose main concern is to see that all the television sets in the community are functioning properly. And, if the ailments of the sick one’s can’t be cured, he can fill a prescription to remedy the situation. He is quite adept at selling new sets and can make the transplant of “old to new” in a very short length of time.
                He was born on January 26, 1943 in Chicago and at the ripe old age of four, he and his family moved to Gifford, In. He attended Gilliam Grade School near Gifford and is a 1961 graduate of Tefft High School.
                He attended the Valparaiso Institute of Technology for two years where he majored in the field of electronics. Then he moved to St. Louis, Mo. where he was employed by the McDonald Aircraft Corporation. He did some work on the ground equipment for the Gemini Space project which kept him busy for the next year.
                In 1964, he moved back to Gifford and worked at Robbins T.V. in Wheatfield for one year. For the next four years, he was employed by Schultz T.V. in Lake Village and then he moved to Kentland where he worked at Home Furnishings for the next ten years.
                On December 1, 1978, he purchased the former Harold’s T.V. Sales and Service Store in Morocco where he is happily adjusting to the rigors of being a self-employed businessman.
                He and his wife, the former Lois Morgan, are residing in Kentland until they can find a house to buy in Morocco. The couple was married on June 26, 1976, the same year Lois received her Master’s Degree from Purdue University.
                Lois graduated from Morocco High School in 1962 and is a 1966 graduate of the Indiana University School of Nursing. She is employed as a nurse for the North Newton School Corporation.
                Dave is a member of the Morocco Lions Club and is the newest member in the Knights of Pythias Lodge in Morocco. He is also a member of the Washington Township Conservation Club and the Hazelden Country Club.
                As his hobbies, he enjoys fishing, hunting and golfing.
 
Gailord Hickman, Hickman’s Jewelry Store
Neighbors in profile
February 7, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Hickman Jewelry here for 30 years
                Gailard Hickman, owner of Hickman’s Jewelry Store, couldn’t find available space for his business in Morocco following his graduation from the Cunningham School of Horology in 1950.
                “Can you believe,” said Gailard, “there wasn’t one empty building on State Street at that time. So, I set up a temporary working area in the Kenneth Deardurff Jewelry Store where I remained for one full year.”
                Then he moved his business into the building where the Potts Barber Shop is now located and in 1955, he purchased the building in which he is presently employed as the only jeweler in town.
                Gailard was born on Jan. 16, 1923 and attended school in Mt. Ayr, Colfax and Morocco. He graduated from Morocco High School in 1941.
                Following graduation, he worked in the mills in East Chicago for one year and then helped his father on the farm the next year.
                He entered the army in 1944 during which time he was stationed in Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina. He was discharged in 1946 and returned home to spend two years farming the family acres.
                In 1948, he moved to Corydon, Ind. where he attended watch making school for two years.
                Gailard and the former Phyllis Standish of Mt. Ayr were married on July 9, 1945. They are the parents of three children, Darlene, Sandy and Dennis.
                Darlene was born on March 2, 1946 and graduated from Morocco High School. She married Larry James of Morocco and they were blessed with four children. Donnie is 17; Julie, 16; Richard 12 and Denise is 9 years old. Darlene was a hairdresser before her death on April 9, 1977.
                Sandy was born March 18, 1951 and graduated from North Newton High School. She was a hairdresser until her marriage to Gaylord Cady of Morocco. She is presently employed as a Real Estate Agent and a Broker. The Cady’s share their home in Mishawaka with their six year old daughter, Michele.  Gaylord, better known as “Butch”, is employed by the Farm Bureau Insurance Company.
                Dennis was born on Oct. 9, 1957 and is a 1975 graduate of North Newton High School. He is employed by the Don Camblin Electric Company in Morocco and is married to the former Kim Weaver of Anderson. They are the parents of two and a half year old Adrianne.
                “Oh, by the way,” said Gailard, “don’t forget to mention my great-granddaughter.”
                With a million dollar smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he informed me that Brandi Lynn is quite a bundle of joy at two and a half months.
                Besides his grandchildren and great-granddaughter, Gailard enjoys fishing in his spare time.
 
 
Harriet and Roger Hively, Morocco Laundromat
Neighbors in profile
June 12, 1980      
By Donna LaCosse
Providing a needed service …
                Roger and Harriet Hivley of rural Morocco own and operate the Morocco Laundromat, having purchased the business from Peg and Harold Hamann in August of 1977.
                Roger was born on November 22, 1931 in Morocco and attended Morocco High School. He worked for the Richard Gumz Farms for two years before going to East Chicago where he has remained as an employee at Inland Steel.
                Harriet (Graves) was born on December 17, 1933 in Grant Park, Ill. and attended Grant Park High School. She was employed as a waitress in Schneider prior to her marriage.
                The couple was married on March 24, 1951 in Kentland and have resided in or near Morocco for the past 29 years.
                They are the parents of four children, three of whom are North Newton graduates.
                Steve, 28, is employed as an electrician. He is married to the former Susie Pufald of Beaverville and the couple lives north of Morocco.
                John, 24, is employed at Inland Steel and resides in Griffith, Ind.
                Kimberly, 21, is a new bride. She and Cully Vogt of Mt. Ayr were married on May 31. Kim is employed at Inland Steel and her husband is employed by Jeff Mashino in the siding business. Kim and Cully live in Morocco.
                Scott, 15, lives with his parents and will be a sophomore at North Newton this fall.
                As a hobby, Roger enjoys fishing and hunting and Harriet just likes to cook and bake. She also enjoys home decorating.
                The Hively’s attend the Morocco United Church where Harriet is a leader for the Action Circle.
                “I love living in Morocco,” said Harriet. “I consider this my home town since I’ve lived here longer than I lived in Grant Park.”
                She added that she thought the people in this community were great and were glad she had the opportunity to raise her children in the friendly town of Morocco.
               
Gene James, James’ Grocery
Neighbors in profile
March 7, 1989
By Donna LaCosse
James Grocery found a beginning in alfalfa field 40 years ago
                James Grocery has not always been a part of the Morocco scene. It may seem that way to the younger people in the area who ‘remember it always being there.” However, the old timers can remember
when there was alfalfa growing “in that thar pasture.”
                Actually, the little neighborhood grocery store, located on State Road 114 at the south edge of Morocco is only 40 years old.
                Verna James and her late husband, Clifford, built the one room, “jot-em-down” store in 1948 so Verna would have something to do while Clifford spent the day in the classroom.
                And, like Lum and Abner’s “jot-em-down” store, one could “buy now and pay later” and one could purchase anything from soup to nuts, including fresh meats and produce.
                Fresh meats were purchased at Hockney’s Meat Packing in Thayer during the once-a-week-outing Verna and Clifford allowed themselves. Of course, at that time, right after World War II, driving to and from Thayer was not as easy as it is in 1989 so the couple really did enjoy the trip to Thayer and home again.
                Later Hockney’s became Hanford’s Meat Packing Plant and James’ continued to purchase fresh meat for their customers.
                Fresh produce was delivered to the door by Ben Kaplan, who came from the Chicago area in an old pick-up truck with a tarp over the bed in which all the “goodies” rode safely for miles and miles, and from store to store.
                Verna called the vehicle a “covered wagon” driven by a great old man who was mighty proud of his fruits and vegetables.
                “Almost every week,” said Verna, “when he came in he would place a big, fat head of lettuce on the counter. Then he would say he bet I had never seen such a “purty” head of lettuce in my life.” Verna remembers it being such a joy to have Ben stop in because he was always so pleased with what he had to sell.
                She has wonderful memories to tell of her life as a clerk in a small town grocery store but first, we need to regress a few years and see if we can find out how this all came about.
                Who were these to “fairly” young people? Why did they decide to venture into the unknown after 25 years of marriage and an already full life?
                This was a typical family; the man was the school teacher, the woman had a home to take care of and a son to raise, yet here they were, watching the cement blocks get higher and higher on what would soon be a grocery store all of their very own.
                So, we go a little further back now, to September 26, 1903 when the little town of Conrad, north of Morocco, increased in population by one. Clifford was the fourth child born to Brace and Sarah Archibald James. His sister Bessie, who married Gerald Bouse, is now deceased but was a life time resident of Morocco; his brother , Carroll is also deceased but his widow, Bertha Madison James resided in Morocco as does his sister, Hallie, who married Vane Smith, who is also deceased.
                The day after Clifford was born; a girl baby was born to Kathryn Martin Collins and William Collins in their county home near the Iroquois River north of Kentland. Verna was one of five children born to former England residents.
                Her sister, Emma Yeider of Rensselaer, and Carolyn Heiser of Lafayette are now deceased as is her brother, Rusell who was killed in a truck accident 17 years ago. Her sister, Eva Clark is residing in Winamac.
                Clifford graduated from Morocco High School and attended Valparaiso University for two years. His first year of teaching was at the Griggs Country School south of Brook but, at the end of the first school term, the school closed forever and he had to find another place to “hang” his “chalk and eraser.”
                Verna attended the Kentland School until she completed her freshman year; then she withdrew because of the difficulties she incurred trying to get to school. Unlike the modern day mode of transportation, a horse and buggy needed care during school hours and   Verna just could not be outside the building as an “animal  sitter” and inside the building as a student, all at one time. Thus ended her formal education.
                The couple was married Aug. 25, 1923 when Clifford was earning $100 a month as a school teacher. That year he taught at Foresman; then for the next 10 years, he taught at the Ade Elementary School.
                During this time, Clifford attended two summer semesters at Ball State University in Muncie in order to receive his degree.
                The year 1934 was a “biggy’ for Verna and Clifford. They moved to Morocco where he taught in the elementary school until his retirement in 1965 and, their son Eugene was born.
                Several years later, while visiting with a Mr. Hudson, who had a neighborhood store in Rensselaer, the James family was talked into opening the same type store in Morocco. So in 1948, Verna found herself in the grocery business while Clifford taught school for nine months and sold groceries for the remaining three months of the year.
                In 1950, when Verna began making potato salad, in large quantities, for the store, little did she realize she would be doing the same thing for 30 years! Since her retirement, Gene’s wife, Trish makes the potato salad on a daily basis.
                On Jan. 1, 1966, Gene became the manager of James Grocery. He has added more room to the original building, making the store more than twice the size it was and he has done extensive remodeling.
                Besides fresh potato salad and the usual line of groceries, the store now features hunting supplies and video movies.
                Gene also made it possible for his parents to become grandparents of two boys who are both graduates of North Newton High School.
                With a smile from ear to ear, Verna is ready to tell everyone about her grandsons. Todd is employed in construction in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Cary is a sophomore at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
                Clifford died on Sept. 9, 1979 at the age of 75 and Verna continues to be looked after by Snoopy, an 11 year old “friend” who doesn’t miss much of what goes on inside, or outside, the family home.
 
Dick Kaupke, Morocco Implement Company
Neighbors in profile
January 31, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Family plans move to Florida
Dick Kaupke winds up 31 years of service here
                Dick Kaupke adopted Morocco ah his home town 31 years ago and very soon now, he will be leaving Morocco to start a new life in sunny Florida.
                He will be greatly missed in the community, both as a businessman and as a resident. Best wished for the future is extended to Dick and his family as a farewell greeting from friends and business associates in the Morocco area. Florida’s gain will be Morocco’s loss.
                Dick moved to Morocco from Hammond in Nov. 1949 when his father purchased the Morocco Implement Company from Milton Vanderkolk who moved to Arizona.
                He worked with his father until 1951, when he enlisted the Air Force on Feb. 6. During the next four years, Dick was stationed in Texas, California, Japan and New Mexico. He was discharged in 1955 and returned to Morocco for a permanent stay, or so he thought.
                Dick also returned to the family business of farm machinery sales and service, where he remained as an employee until 1967 when he entered into a partnership with his father and mother. His father passed away in Nov. 1972 and Dick and his mother continued with the partnership until they sold the business in December of last year.
                He is a Past Master of the Masonic Lodge and a Past Patron of the order of the Eastern Star.
                Dick was born on March 3, 1930 in Hammond. He attended Edison Grade School and graduated from Hammond High School in 1948. During his high school days, he worked at the Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Ill. where he was also enrolled as a student pilot. He received his private pilot’s license on his sixteenth birthday.
                Following graduation, he was employed at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company in East Chicago for six months.
                He and the former Dottie Bingham of Enos were married on Sept. 22, 1951. She is employed as an Inventory Control Administrator at the Permonite Manufacturing Co. in Morocco.
                Dick and Dottie are the parents of five children, four of whom have already left the nest.
                Rick was born on July 3, 1952. He graduated from North Newton High School in 1970 and is employed by the Martin Brower Food Distribution Company in Indianapolis.
                Margaret was born on March 3, 1954 and is a 1972 graduate of North Newton. She is married to Martin Tom Jones, formerly of Indianapolis and they live in Phoenix, Arizona with their son, Marti Tom who is twenty month old. Margaret is an executive secretary for Insurance Company and Marty is an attorney with a law firm in Phoenix.
                David, a 1974 North Newton graduate was born on May 21, 1956 and was employed by his father until Dec. 27 when he moved to Arizona where he is attending Arizona State University. Dave also has his private pilot’s license and is planning to be a commercial pilot following his graduation from college.
                Greg was born on Aug. 11, 1957, graduated from North Newton in 1975 and from Indiana University in 1979. He is employed as a Convention Manager for the Hilton Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Greg married the former Mary Ann Litwicki of Indianapolis on May 19, 1979. She graduated from the Indiana University Dental School in 1979 and is employed as dental hygienist.
                Last but not least is Michelle who was born on Feb 19, 1966. She is an eighth grader in the Mt. Ayr Junior High School.
                As a hobby, Dick said he enjoyed flying, boating, fishing and traveling.
                Perhaps, with his future in Florida, he can enjoy what he really likes to do best and that, said Dick, “is just plain goofing off.”
                               
Luther Kessler, Former Beaver Township Trustee
Neighbors in profile
October 4, 19979
By Donna LaCosse
Former trustees hired and fired
                “Being a Township Trustee is not an easy job,” said Luther Kessler. “When I went into office on January 1, 1943, the trustee was in charge of hiring and firing school teachers as well as managing the township business.”
                He went on to say that during his first month in office, four of the Morocco School personnel resigned their positions to join the Navy and since it was war time, replacing a principal, a coach, a band and an Ag teacher wasn’t easy. “But, I got the job done,” said Luther, “and school went on as usual.”
                Luther was born on November 10, 1890 just south of Morocco where he is still living. “Not in the same house,” Luther commented, “but on the same hill.”
                Luther’s grandfather Hogan, a Methodist Minister, came to Indiana from Kentucky just before the Civil War. He freed his slaves and moved his six daughters to Morocco where he continued to preach in the Methodist Church.
                Luther’s mother graduated from Valparaiso University and was a teacher before she married Elbert Kessler. Elbert always told people he graduated from Oak Dale College, “but,” said Luther, “the one-room school he went to was the first school building in the town of Morocco and I’m not even sure how many years he went to school.”
                Luther graduated from Morocco High School in 1910 in a class of eight students. Two of his classmates, Lorena Kessler and Maie Holley, are still living and reside in Morocco. He attended the Purdue Ag School for two years and returned to Newton County where he has remained all these many years. His father wanted him to be either a lawyer or a minister but Luther won that battle and became a farmer.
                Luther’s father was a farmer before joining John Kessler, in 1906, in the Kessler and Company Store located where Spradling’s Store is now. This was an old fashion department store where shoppers could purchase groceries, clothing, dry goods, shoes and fencing.
                When asked how he met his wife, Luther said she came home with his sister, Virginia, one summer and attended the Conservatory of Music in Chicago during the summer session. Virginia was teaching speech in Texas where she met Vivian. “Anyway,” said Luther, “we played a little tennis that summer and in the fall, she and Virginia went back to Texas and then Virginia married Bill Spradling and I went to Texas to see them. I also saw Vivian while I was there.”
                Three years later, on October 26, 1916, Luther and Vivian Manning were married in Belleview, Texas and she returned to Newton County to be a farmer’s wife.
                They are the parents of three children. Manning was born in 1918; Margaret in 1920 and Buna in 1925.
                Manning graduated from Morocco High School and Purdue University. After serving in the army, he returned home to become a farmer.
                Margaret, a college graduate, is married to Jack Fassnacht and lives in Niles, Michigan. They are the parents of three daughters. Kathy graduated from business school and is a secretary for Clarks Heavy Machinery in Niles. Cindy is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and is a librarian in Lexington. Marie is attending the University of Virginia.
                Buna, who passed away in 1968, was married to Bruce Vollmer and lived in East Lansing, Michigan. Buna was also a college graduate. Bruce is employed by the State Conservation Department.
                Mike, Buna and Bruce’s oldest son, will graduate from Medical School as a doctor in the spring of 1980. Steven is married and lives in East Lansing. He has been working for General Motors since his graduation from college. Susan is also living in East Lansing.
                Luther served as Beaver Township Trustee for eight years and in 1952, he was elected to the County Council where he served for eight years. He is a member of the K P Lodge and the United Methodist Church.
                “I’ve held just about every office in the church at some time or other,” said Luther, “but I’ve never preached a sermon.”
                The Kessler’s were married for 50 years before Vivian passed away in January of 1967.
                Luther said he would never forget the year of 1927. He bought a Chevrolet Sedan and the family drove to Texas to visit Vivian’s parents. While they were there, he received a telegram from his father saying “Everything on the farm burned except the pump and it’s bent.” The Kessler family returned home to find no home. The month of the fire was August and by the end of December, they moved into their new home.
                “I’ve been here ever since,” said Luther, “and I’m not about to leave now.”
               
Harold Krueger, Krueger’s Machine Shop
Neighbors in profile
December 4, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Krueger involved in most interesting profession
                Harold Krueger, president of the newly formed Morocco Business Association, is the owner and operator of the Krueger Machine and Tool Company in Morocco.
                Krueger has a Degree in Engineering from Purdue University and was employed with his father until Henry died in 1977. Now he works alone in the shop surrounded by interesting looking equipment.
                His special talent is in designing and making parts for automatic machinery. One example of his labor is the machine he designed that manufactures 600 books of matches per minute. This process includes cutting and folding the cover, cutting the matches and stapling them inside the cover. “When this machine is in operation,” said Krueger, “there is a big blur and in sixty seconds, there are 600 match books all ready for use.”
                Harold was born in Chicago on November 23, 1941. He moved to Morocco as an infant and graduated from Morocco High School in 1959.
                Following his graduation from Purdue University, he was employed by a major electric motor manufacturer in Ohio and returned to Morocco in 1966.
                Harold and the former Marilyn Pommier of Kankakee were married in 1965. They are the parents of three children. Hayden is 14; Bryan is 12 and Renee is 11 years old.
                Hayden is a freshman at Donovan High School in Donovan, Illinois. Bryan is in the seventh grade and Renee is a sixth grader. They also attend school in Donovan.
                Harold is a member of the Morocco Business Association and the Morocco Lions Club.
                His hobbies include flying; fishing and watching his sons participate in sports.
 
Peg LaCosse and Jan Shirer, Balcony Interiors
Neighbors in profile
August 21, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Peg LaCosse, good guy-or glutton for punishment
                Business partnerships are very often unsuccessful due to the fact that each person is an individual in his or her own right. Each one has an opinion as to how a business should be operated and quite often, two people cannot even agree on any one particular issue let alone several.
                A person needs to have very special qualities in order to have a really good working relationship in a business venture with another. It’s almost like being married. And, to enter into a partnership in two entirely different businesses either means that a person is one in a million or a glutton for punishment.
                One such person is Peggy LaCosse, who is half owner of the Milt Storey Implement Company and half owner of Balcony Interiors in downtown Morocco.
                Peg, the daughter of Florence and Milt Storey of Morocco, said she was born on May 10, 1940, but all her friends know she was really born in 1936.
                She may look and act young as a grandmother; she needs to admit she is four years older than she really wants to be.
                During her high school days, Peg played in the band and was a cheerleader. She graduated from Morocco High School in 1954 and is a 1955 graduate of the McMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
                Following graduation, she worked as a drug cosmetic buyer for F.W. Woolworth in downtown Chicago for one year.
                On September 15, 1956, she was married to Dale LaCosse who is her partner and the business manager at Milt Storey Implement.
                Dale was born on August we, 1932 in Lake Village. He attended grade school in that town and is a 1950 graduate of Morocco High School.
                Following graduate, he served a tour with the army after which he was employed as a supervisor at Harrbison and Walker in East Chicago.
                The couple moved to Morocco in 1960 when Dale began working for his father-in-law in the implement business and Peg devoted her time to being a wife and mother.
                Dale entered into a partnership with Milt Storey and in 1970, Dale and Peg became partners in the business.
                The Lacrosse’s are the parents of two children, Jeff and Kim.
                Jeff was born on July 13, 1957. He and his wife, the former Chris Hanger are 1975 graduates of North Newton High School.
                Jeff is employed by his father and Chris is employed by Matthew who was born in 1976 and Holli who joined the family in 1980.
                Kim was born on March 13, 1959 and is a 1977 graduate of North Newton High School. Following her graduation from a travel school in Minnesota, she worked in Chicago for one year and in Florida for one year.
                She returned home this past spring and is presently employed at the Morocco swimming pool.
                Peg enjoys golfing as a hobby as does Dale, who is also an avid fisherman.
                In January 1979, Peg entered into a second partnership with Janice Shirer and Balcony Interiors became a popular place to browse and shop.
                Janice, more commonly known as Jan, was born on February 18, 1942 and is the daughter of Morocco residents, Maxine and Dick Garmong.
                She was also a cheerleader at Morocco High School where she graduated in 1960.
                On July 1, 1960 she was married to Lee Shirer, a 1959 graduate of Morocco High School. Lee is presently employed as a farmer having completed a short course in agriculture following his high school graduation.
                The Shirer’s are the parents of two sons, Troy and Brad.
                While the children were growing up, Jan began planning for a future career by being a part-time college student and became a full-time student after the boys started to school.
                She received her BS degree from St. Joe College in Rensselaer and her MS degree from Purdue University.
                She spent the first six years of her teaching career at the Kentland Elementary School with second grade students and is beginner her fourth year at the Morocco Elementary School as a third grade teacher.
                Jan enjoys reading and golfing. Her husband is an outdoor person who likes golfing, fishing and sports. He is also an avid card player.
                Their son Troy was born in 1961 and graduated from North Newton in 1979. He is a sophomore at Ball State in Muncie, Ind.
                He married Terri, also an1979 graduate at North Newton, on November 16, 1979 and they are the parents of three month old Brooke Danielle. Terri is a part-time student at Ball State.
                Brad, born in 1962, is a junior at North Newton High School.
 
Maurice McClatchey, Morocco Plumbing and Heating
Neighbors in profile
January 24, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
“Morrie” very “private citizen”
When McClatchey quits … McClatchey quits!
                “I guess when it was time for me to retire,” said Maurice McClatchey, “I just decided to do it up big.”
                Not only did he retire as the owner-manager of the Morocco Plumbing and Heating Company in 1979, he also retired as a Morocco town Board member.
                 “That’s taking two giant steps at one time,” said Maurice, who is more commonly known as Morrie. He was in business for twenty-eight years.
                Morrie was born on a farm south of Morocco on Oct. 14, 1913, and graduated from Morocco High School in 1932.
                He attended Franklin College for one year and because of a lack of funds, he came back to Newton County and spent the following year working in the Cornbelt Hatchery in Kentland.
                The next two years found him working as a farm hand for Howard Washburn near Kentland then it was “back to the hatchery business,” where he worked for Clyde Yoder, of Morocco, who operated the Kentland Hatchery in Kentland.
                Morrie and the former Martha Hagan of Kentland were married on Nov.14, 1936 and settled down in their cozy little abode where they had hopes of remaining “until death do us part.”
                But, that dream was short lived. Due to circumstances beyond their control, the happily married couple soon found themselves living in Morocco.
                “You see, said Martha, “we introduced Russell Yoder to a friend of ours by the name of Ruth and made him promise not to marry her so Maurice wouldn’t have to leave the Hatchery.”
                So much for promises. Russell and Ruth fell in love, were married on Sept. 24, 1938. Morrie was transferred to the Yoder Hatchery in Morocco and they moved to Morocco where they have remained for the past forty-one years.
                When the Morocco water tower was erected in 1941, Morrie went to work for the Morocco Water Works where he remained until Uncle Sam sent him a special invitation in August of 1943.
                Morrie served with the Army Corp of Engineers in the European theater of operations during World War II and was discharged in Jan. 1946.
                He returned to his old job with the town and then became employed by L.G. Shoemaker in the plumbing and heating business. That business was sold to Chris Christenson in August, 1949 and in 1959, Morrie bought Chris out and moved the business to him home on North Main Street. Morrie sold the business to his son, Mike last year.
                Morrie and Martha are the parents of two sons. Mike married the former Karen Harrison on July 27, 1968 and they live in Morocco with their three daughters, Shannon, 8, Cory, 5 and Megan, 3. Mike was born on March 20, 1944, and graduated from Morocco High School in 1961. He attended Purdue University for one year after which he went to work with his father.
                Mark was born on Nov. 13, 1951 and graduated from North Newton High School in 1970. He graduated from Indiana State University in 1974 and is a supervisor for the container Corp in Wabash, Ind. He and the former Minda Wolf of Wabash were married on Feb. 23, 1975.
                Morrie said the one thing he is pleased about is the influence he had in the purchase of the old Baptist Church by the town of Morocco. “Our fire department needed a building and now they have one they can really be proud of,” said Morrie, “and that makes me feel real good inside.”
 
Maude Manchester, Manchester’s Garage
Neighbors in profile
August 16, 1979  
By Donna LaCosse
Maude Manchester
                Did you ever wonder how a station attendant pumped gas into a car during the days before electricity? Or wonder how they could see what they were doing when it was dark outside?
                There’s a little ole lady in our town who can tell you about those good old days.
                Maude Manchester can remember using a hand pump to fill a car with gas and being paid twenty five cents a gallon for the gas she sold. Included in the cost of the gas, was a free windshield wash and an oil check. The tires were always checked to see if they needed air and if they did, a hand pump was used for that task.
                “Changing oil in the winter time was a lot of fun,” said Maude, “the station wasn’t heated and it took forever to put a cold can of oil in a car. I have never seen anything run so slow in my life.”
                When it got dark outside, an Aladdin lamp, fueled with kerosene was hung in the window with a wooden box placed behind the lamp so the light would travel toward the thirsty vehicle by the gas pump.
                Sound like fun? Well, you ain’t  heard nothin’ yet. There was no indoor plumbing so the people who needed to use the station restrooms were shown to the little house out back. City people didn’t take kindly to that idea.
                “I remember one man,” said Maude, “who stopped in a great big chauffeur driven car and asked me where he might find the rest room. I pointed in the direction of the little house and he threw a complete fit. Stomped his feel like a little kid and said he would stop at the next station. I almost laughed in his face because I knew he would have to ride all the way to Kentland before he found an indoor bathroom and I thought he deserved to wet his pants, if he was too good to use my out house.”
                And there was the time, on August 12, 1954, when a young man came in and asked for shells for his gun. Maude had to stoop down to get the shells from under the counter and as she stooped, something hit her on the head. She thought an object had fallen off the counter, so she continued her search for the right shells. After she felt the second blow, she stood up and discovered she had been hit over the head by a would-be-thief. When she called to her husband, the young man jumped in his car and headed north. Even though she had been injured, she still managed to get the license plate number and her husband called the sheriff. The car, which had been stolen, was found abandoned a short time later and the 18 year old was apprehended while hitch hiking on the highway. And thanks to Kenny E. Wesley of Hammond, it took eight stitches to close the hole in the top of Maude’s head.
                Maude Graves, daughter of Cora and Ben Graves was born on January 1, 1897 in Morocco. She graduated from Morocco High School in 1915 and from South Bend Business College in 1919.
                She was working as a secretary for the Oliver Chilled Plow Works in South Bend when she met her future husband, Jack Manchester.
                Jack’s brother worked with Maude and one day he told Maude he had a brother just home from the army and he would like for her to meet him. She thought that sounded like a good idea and was thrilled at the idea of having a blind date. Jack called her that evening, asked for a date and she accepted.
                Naturally the brother had to come along and properly introduce them. Then he decided to go along on the dat. “And,” said Maude he was with us when we got married and he even went with us on our honeymoon.” Now, that is what you call togetherness!
                Jack was working for the American Express Company at the time they were married on November 8, 1919. The following year, they decided to move to the farm north of Morocco when Maude’s parents moved to town, her parents didn’t like town life so in 1923, they moved back to the farm and the Manchester’s moved back to South Bend. They bought a house and Jack went to work as a rural paper deliverer for the South Bend Tribune after which he worked at the Little Dutch Cleaners.
                In 1933, they bought an acre of ground north of Morocco where the old Cox school house was once located and moved back to Morocco. At that time US 41 was a gravel road. They added onto the shell of a house already located on their newly purchased property and made plans to open a service station. Following the installation of a gas pump by Cities Service, the Manchester’s were in business. Jack also drove a school bus and was a substitute mail carrier while Maude operated the gas station.
                Later, they changed to Standard Oil because it was a more popular brand of gasoline at that time and they thought they might get more business.
                When Murphy Lake was converted to Willow Slough and became a haven for fishermen and hunters home away from home, the Manchester’s added a Sporting Goods section to their service station and sold fish worms, fishing gear, Johnson boat motors and hunting equipment. They also raised pheasants and quail in their back yard for the Conservation Department. During the growing season, Jack and a neighbor, Jess Downs, grew melons and opened a fresh fruit stand. “We had a one stop shopping center,” said Maude, “and we were sure kept busy.”
                Electricity was installed along the highway in 1935 and the Manchester’s home became very modern. One light bulb in the center of the ceiling of each room was an added convenience for the family; however, they only used the electric lights when they had guests. The one thing they really did use and enjoyed was an electric water pump.
                Jack became the Newton County Sheriff in 1944 and the Manchester family moved to Kentland. Jack and his deputy, Gilbert Stucker, policed the entire county because all the young men were in the service. Maude cooked for the prisoners. She did not receive a salary but was paid thirty-five cents for each meal she served.
                During the two terms Jack served as sheriff, the Manchester’s shared a lot of experiences. There were the prisoners who tried to hang themselves, those who set fire to their beds and those who tried to talk themselves out of being placed in jail.
                “I think the one thing I will never forget,” said Maude “is the little ten year old black boy who really did escape from his cell. This little guy was seen riding his bicycle all over town and since everyone else in town was white, we knew he didn’t belong to anyone in Kentland.”  For his own protection, Jack brought the boy to the jail. He told them he lived in Indianapolis and had run away from home. He was placed in the juvenile room so he would be safe until his parents could come for him. During the night, he crawled through an opening in the door that was just large enough for a tray with a tin cup on it to slide through.
                “When we asked him he crawled through that hole,” said Maude, “he said he wanted out because he was afraid someone would steal his bicycle. What made it so funny is that he had stolen the bicycle before he left Indianapolis.”             
                In 1948, Jack moved his family back to Morocco and they continued with their service station, sporting goods and fruit stand business.
                At this time, Jack thought the children in the community should be introduced to the sport of fishing and he began to hold daily and weekly contests. The children brought their fish to Jack who kept a record of the weight and length of the fish caught. At the end of the week, the child who had caught the biggest fish received a prize.            
                One very cold day when the roads were covered with ice, Maude looked out the station window just in time to see a Conrad Bakers truck flip over on its side. She started down the road to see if the driver was hurt only to discover, he was walking toward her. She wanted to phone for help but he wanted to do it himself, so she held him up to the phone while he called his boss in Kankakee. After the call had been completed, she laid him on the couch and gave him artificial respiration. “I don’t know how that man ever managed to walk to the station,” said Maude, “after he was taken to the hospital, I found out he had suffered a concussion and had a broken leg.
                With a scar on her head as a constant reminder of what could happen, Maude developed the habit of checking on Jack’s safety whenever he was waiting on a customer. She would stand just inside the bedroom and peek around the door to see what was going on in the other room.     
                One very early morning, a hunter came in for some high powered shells and decided to load his gun inside the store. Just as Jack suggested he do that outside, the gun went off, causing a lot of damage to the walls of the store. “The worse damage was done in the very spot I would have been standing, if I hadn’t been too lazy to get out of bed that morning,” said Maude. “The whole place was in shambles and I had to clean the mess up.”
                When construction began on the divided highway in 1961, the Manchester’s were forced to sell their business and the building was torn down. They moved into Morocco and Jack retired. He passed away on June 8, 1976.
                Maude and Jack were the parents of two children.  Dean was born on October 2, 1920 and Dolores joined the family on December 30, 1921.
                Dean is married to the former Gweneth Smith of Lower Hutt, New Zealand and they reside in Culver, Indiana. They are the parents of three children.
                Janet Lyon lives in New Port, Washington with her husband and three children, Jason, Brenda and James Stuart. Karen Clifton and her husband are the parents of four children, Len, Tammy, Dianna and Amanda and they live in Culver, Ind.  Stuart is farming near Lowell, Ind.  
                Dolores is married to Enlen Brandt and they live in Traverse City, Michigan. Dolores has a daughter Polly Eveleigh, who lives in Mason, Michigan.
                Maude is a member of the Morocco American Legion Auxiliary; the World War I Barracks Auxiliary; the Mizph Sunday School Class; the Happy Bunco Club and the Fleur-de-lis-Club.
                She was the county assessor for several years and has served on the election board since 1933.
               
Dalton Mangis, North Newton School Superintendent
Neighbors in profile
August 22, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
He Likes to sling paint on canvas
“I like what I’m doing or I wouldn’t be doing it,” said Dalton Mangis, Superintendent of the North Newton School Corporation. “I miss the personal contact with the kids because I happen to like kids, but I’m very happy with my job. Now I’m working for the kids instead of working with them.
                Dalton has been associated with the North Newton School Corporation for the past eight years, going to Mt. Ayr in 1971 as principal with teaching responsibilities. After two years in the Mt. Ayr School, he was transferred to the Lake Village Elementary School where he remained for the next two years. He then became the corporation Superintendent after serving a three month apprenticeship in the administration office.
                He said his job was very time consuming and free moments were few and far between. Because there is no time for golfing, he put his clubs in the back of the closet and when things became so hectic he has to get away from it all, he works out his frustrations by “slinging” paint on a canvas.
                He has several beautiful oil paintings hanging in his home at 467 South Clay Street in Morocco and has given a lot of them away as gifts.
                Dalton was born on August 5, 1929 in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. He graduated from Frankfort High School in 1948 and attended Ball State Teachers College for three years before being drafted into the Army. He was stationed in Korea for two years and following his discharge from the army, re-entered College and graduated from Ball State in 1954. He received his master’s degree in 1956 while he was teaching in the Colfax High School.
                Then he returned to his home town of Frankfort and taught in the Riley Elementary School for twelve years before becoming the principal of that school where he remained for the next three years.
                At the time, he was offered a teaching position in the North Newton School Corporation and moved his family to Morocco.
                He and the former Sally Hackert, also of Frankfort, were married on February 13, 1957.
                When asked if he and Sally were high school sweethearts, Dalton said, “No, just friends. We didn’t date each other until 1956. I saw her walking down the street one day and wondered if she had ever gotten married. I found out she hadn’t and I asked her for a date. She accepted and a year later, I discovered she was married to me.”
                They are the parents of one son, Ben who will be a sophomore at Purdue this fall.
                Dalton is a member of the American Association of School Administrators; the National School Board Association; the Association of Public School Superintendents of Indiana and is an honorary member of the Phi Delta Kappa, and educational fraternity. He is also a member of the Morocco Lions Club.
                While talking about his responsibilities as the superintendent of schools, Dalton said, “I think we have a real good school system here and I aim to keep it that way by constantly improving the teaching staff, the curriculum and the buildings.”
                He is a dedicated superintendent and is an asset to the community. He has done a tremendous job working with the school board for the benefit of the students within the corporation and his task of constantly working for the betterment of the school system is indeed a great one.
                He may be little but his is mighty and with Dalton at the helm of the ship, the school system has no place to go except up.
 
Marion Potts, Pott’s Barber Shop
Neighbors in profile
November 20, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Local tonsorial artist
                Local barber, Marion Potts, has been “clipping” hair for the past 40 years and has plans to continue serving the public as long as his health permits him to do so.
                People having a need for his special talent will find him available in his shop on North Clay Street, a few steps off State Street in Morocco, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. The shop is also open on Wednesday evening from 6:30 until 8 p.m.
                Marion was born on a farm west of Morocco on July 28, 1912. He attended school in Morocco after which he was employed in road construction for a short time and then farmed for several years.
                He attended Barber School in Indianapolis in 1940 after which he returned to Morocco where he served his apprenticeship under Gauis Fox.
                In 1942, he was inducted into the army where he served as a sergeant in the Military Police until he was discharged in 1946.
                From 1946 until 1954, he owned and operated his own barber shop. For six months in 1955, he was employed as a barber in Hammond after which he accepted a barbering position in the Union Building at Purdue University where he remained until the spring of 1956.
                Then he returned to Morocco where he opened his present shop on North Clay Street. In the spring of 1981, he will be celebrating 25 years of barbering in the same location.
                Marion was married to the former Arlene Reitz of Paxton, Illinois on May 10, 1942. They are the parents of two children.
                Carol Ann was born on November 26, 1944 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1963. She is a 1966 graduate of the Ball State School of Nursing and is employed at the Medical Center in Kankakee. She is married to John Warring, general manager of the Bergeron Pain and Body Shop, and they reside in Bourbonnais, Illinois with their three daughters. Stacey is 11, Kelly is 9 and Angie is 6.
                Terry was born on January 29, 1946 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1965. Following graduation, he served four years in the air force. He and the former Imogene Lade were the parents of a son, Brian Keith who will be ten years old on January 7. Terry passed away on July 25, 1972.
                Marion is a member of the United Church of Morocco; the American Legion Post 146; Forty and Eight Voiture 755 in Fowler; the Morocco Masonic Lodge and the Morocco Volunteer Fire Department.
                He served as the Newton County Veterans Service Officer from 1964 until 1977 and enjoys fishing and wood working as a hobby.
 
Jack LaBelle, Fountain Press
Neighbors in profile
November 15, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Jack LaBelle – Typographer
                Jack LaBelle has been a printer since he was sixteen years old.
                He has worked in several commercial plants around the country in the past and has worked on all the newspapers in the Chicago, Gary and Hammond area. He has also worked for the LaPorte Argus, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Indianapolis Star-News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Michigan Chronicle in Detroit and many others.
                “The best newspaper I ever worked on,” said Jack, “was the old Chicago Evening American.”
                During his five and a half years at the Chicago Sun Times, Jack was the head proofreader on the night side for three years.
                Jack now owns and operates the Fountain Press in downtown Morocco, and is one of the few Public Printer’s in the country. “A Public Printer is one to whom the State Board of Accounts sends revised forms as soon as they are approved,” said Jack, “and most printers are not public printers.”
                The Fountain Press, three years old, started as the Thayer Printing House in Thayer, Ind. sixteen years ago. The Labelle’s purchased their present building in 1976.
                Unlike most of the shops around the country, everything at the Fountain Press is hand printed. Jack has also started printing his own newspaper which is a monthly publication. Its name?  You guessed it, “The Fountain Press.” A copy can be yours free of charge, just by stopping by the shop.
                “We have one printing press that is over one hundred year old which we use almost every day,”
said Jack. “Our most modern press is a Miehe Vertical cylinder press and it dates back to 1936. This is truly a turn-of-the-century antique print shop.
                Jack was born in Chicago on Sept. 22, 1913 and was educated in the Chicago Schools.
                He is a veteran of World War II and spent three and a half years in the army medical department. Following basic training, he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in the San Antonio Brooke General Hospital where he worked in the psycho section. “The only difference between the patients and me were the clothes were work,” said Jack.”They wore maroon and I wore white. Other than that, we were all nuts.”
                He is a life-time member of the Kankakee Valley American Legion Post in DeMotte.
                Jack and the former Nancy Meyers of South Bend were married on Feb. 18, 1954 in Monticello. They are the parents of four children, twins, John and Tom are 23 years old; Dolce is 18 and is a clerk in the store and Ann Marie, 15, is a sophomore at North Newton High School. 
                Jack also has six children by a previous marriage.
                Nancy is also a printer and a machine typesetter and works in the shop with her husband. She has worked in printing plants in Louisville, KY and in Decatur, Ill. and set type at the University of Chicago printing plant for several years.
                Jack said he sold his car because he and his family can find everything they need right here in Morocco.
                Three years ago it was necessary for Jack to undergo surgery for the removal of one leg. “But,” said Jack, “I’m not a cripple, I’m just minus a leg. And this white beard doesn’t make me a civil war veteran either.”
 
Dick and Grace Martin, Downtown Texaco
Neighbors in profile
July 10, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Downtown Texaco is “a high class place”!
                “This is a High Class Place Act Respectably” are words inscribed on a sign that hangs above the front door of the Downtown Texaco Station in Morocco. The same thing, with a twist of the words, can be said for the owners and operators of the Station.
                Grace and Dick Martin are high class and respectable people. They are a husband and wife team who are happy working together and who enjoy working with and for the public.
                Grace was born on January 26, 1940 in Oxford, Ind. She attended grade school in Oxford and attended the Fowler and Kentland High Schools.
                After leaving school, she was a waitress at the Greyhound Post House in Kentland. Prior to becoming a housewife and mother, she was employed by the Dormeyer Company in Kentland.
                Dick was born in Morocco on March 28, 1939. He attended the Morocco Grade and High School after which he tried his hand at farming for Harry Billings. After one crop season, he began working at the Dormeyer Company in Kentland where he remained for 18 months.
                For the next 11 years he was employed by the Newton County Highway Department and he drove a truck for Northway, Inc. in Rensselaer for three years.
                In 1976, he entered a partnership with Jake Reagan of Morocco and together they operated the Texaco Station in Enos and Morocco. Dick was the manager of the Enos Station for one year. In 1977, Jake decided to move from the community, the Enos Station was sold and the Martins purchased Reagan’s interest in the Morocco Texaco Station.
                Dick and the former Grace Hamelman were married in Kentland on April 12, 1959. They are the parents of three daughters.
                Brenda Kay was born on December 7, 1960; Holly Ann made her debut on January 17, 1963 and Val Dawn joined the family on May 20, 1964.
                Brenda is a 1979 graduate of North Newton High School and is employed at the Kentland Nursing Home.
                Holly will be a senior and Val will be a sophomore at North Newton High School in the fall. They are both employed at the Morocco swimming pool this summer.
                As a hobby, Grace enjoys working outside in the garden and in the yard.
                Dick is a stock car race fan and enjoys watching all kinds of sports
 
North Newton School Board
Neighbors in profile
August 30, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
North Newton School Board members
                School board members have a big responsibility in making decisions concerning corporation policies. Their position as board members is almost a full time job, therefore, their responsibilities don’t end with twice a month meetings.
                Individual board members take a lot of flak from the general public and are subjected too much criticism on the decisions they do make.
                Parents with children in school are not always happy with the teachers hired and-or fired; with the subjects offered or not offered at a particular grade level and some are dissatisfied with the extra-curricular activities that are made available or are not made available for the participation of their children.
                Tax payers are often unhappy with the cost of maintaining the school buildings and with the salaries paid to the teachers qualified to educate the children in the corporation.
                Complaints issued toward board members can and do range from why school starts in the middle of summer to why the kids can’t go to school when the snow is twenty feet deep and the roads are blocked.
                Such are the headaches endured by seven individuals who serve on the board for the sole purpose of lending a helping hand in procuring a better education for the citizens of tomorrow.
                These people are to be commended for the decisions they make and for the effort they put forth to see that those decisions are carried through.
                There are people within the corporation who have no idea who the board members are, what they look like nor where they live.
                Perhaps since this is the first week of school, this is the time to introduce you to the members of your school board.
                Tom Shelf, president of the board, lives in Oak Wood Acres in Lincoln Township. Tom is a 1956 graduate of Wheeler High School in Wheeler Ind. and continues to take classes at Purdue. He is an Environmental Control Supervisor at U.S. Steel in Gary. He and his wife, LaCrecia, were married in 1965 and they are the parents of a daughter, Chylene.
                Don Chamberlain lives on a farm west of Mt. Ayr in Jackson Township and is vice president of the school board. Don is a 1947 graduate of Mt. Ayr High School. He and the former Dorothy Williams were married on July 15, 1950 and are the parents of four children. Mona graduated from North Newton in 1969 and is the Directress of the Montessori Pre-school in Mansfield, Ohio. Janet graduated from North Newton in 1972 and lives near Kentland with her husband, Steve Burton.  Joe is a 1978 graduate of North Newton and is employed with the Producers Marketing Association in Rensselaer and Jim is a senior at North Newton this fall.
                Mary Jarvis and her husband Donald live on a farm north of Morocco in McClellan Township. They are the parents of two daughters, Donna, 16, attends North Newton and Diane, 11, is a sixth grader in the Morocco Elementary School.   Mary and Don were married on January 1, 1962. She is a 1958 graduate of Momence High School in Momence, Ill. and is a graduate of Bradley Beauty College in Bradley, Ill. Mary is the secretary of the school board.
                Gary Clark and his wife, Sharell, were married on June 9, 1956 and are the parents of three daughters and the grandparents of four month old Noelle Laffoon. Leisa, a 1976 graduate of North Newton is married to Damon Laffoon; Michele, 15 is a student at North Newton and Julie 13 attends the junior high school at Mt. Ayr.  The Clarks live on a farm south of Morocco in Beaver Township. Gary is a 1954 graduate of Mt Ayr High School
                Glenn DeYoung is a 1945 graduate of Thornton High School in Harvey, Ill, and lives on a farm near Lake Village in Lake Township. He and his wife, Ruth, were married January 27, 1951 and are the parents of three children. Roger and Beth live near Lake Village and are responsible for the DeYoung’s being grandparents of two little boys, Matthew and Scott. Joyce and Jack Webster live in Wolcott and Doug, 14, is attending North Newton High School.
                Dottie Molson and her husband, Al, live on a farm in Colfax Township. Dottie graduated from St. Anne High School in St. Anne, Ill in 1943 and the Molsons were married on March 13, 1948. They are the parents of two daughters and the grandparents of two little girls.  Dawn, a 1971 graduate of North Newton, is married to Ron Christenson and they are the parents of Jessica, 3 and Lauralee, 1.  Gale graduated from North Newton in 1976 and is married to Mark Christenson.
                Jack Warne, school board member at-large, lives in Morocco and is the manager of the Elevator and Feed at the Jasper County Farm Bureau Co-op in Rensselaer. He graduated from Morocco High School in 1953 and is the father of four children. Mike is a 1975 graduate of North Newton and a 1979 of  Rose Holman in Terre Haute. He is employed at Timken Bearing in Canton, Ohio. Kim graduated from North Newton in 1977 and is a secretary for a Steel Company in Lafayette, Ind. Susan is a seventh grader in the Mt. Ayr Junior High School and Mark is a fourth grader at Morocco.
                Just remember, these are the people you elected to represent your district in governing your school corporation. They are doing a beautiful job in a thankless situation and each one is deserving of a little praise once in a while.
 
Stan Perlman, Permonite Manufacturing
Neighbors in profile
April 17, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Stan Perlman, mystery man
                Unless one is directly involved as an employee at the Permonite Manufacturing Company in Morocco, the president of that company would attract more attention if he entered town wearing a white shirt and black mask while riding a great white horse.
                At least people would notice the stranger and wonder if he were the Lone Ranger, Mr. Clean or a white tornado.
                Our mystery man drives quietly into town each Monday, Wednesday and Friday where he cheerfully operates his business from behind a desk and just as unobserved, he returns to his home in Park Forest, Ill.
                Most of the people in this community have no idea who Stan Perlman is or what he looks like and they don’t know what they are missing by not being acquainted with him. He is a delightful person to talk to and a “jim-dandy” boss for the 150 employees in the factory of which he founded in 1953.
                Stan Pearlman was born on May 4, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of four, he and his family moved to Chicago where he graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1948.
                After attending Illinois Institute of Technology for two years, he withdrew from school to work for his father who was a co-partner in the Electrical Component Parts Company of Chicago. That partnership dissolved in 1953 when Stan and his father decided to form their own partnership in a family business.
                Not wanting to open a factory in the city, father and son spread a map out on the table and using Chicago as a focal point drew a one hundred mile radius circle on the map. Then they composed a letter asking if that town was interested in having a factory built in their area and sent a copy of that letter to the chamber of commerce in each of the towns marked by the black line on the map.
                Paul Ringer and Ed Robinson responded to the letter and the father-son team made a trip to Morocco for a look around
                “It seemed as though this area was pre-destined to be the site for our factory,” said Stan. “The owner of the land was interested in selling. There was a need for employment and 41 would be right at our doorstep.”
                The Permonite Manufacturing Company became an established business in November, 1953 with five employees. Twenty-seven years later, there are 150 employees in the Morocco factory which is the larger of the two Permonite Manufacturing companies. The second plant, built just a few years ago, is located in DeMotte.
                Stan’s father passed away in November, 1979. Now Stan, as president, has been joined in the family business by two of his sons.
                The two days during the week when Stan is absent from Morocco, he can be found in the family sales and accounting office in Des Plaines, Ill.
                He was married to the former Estelle Hochberger of Chicago in June 1950. They are the parents of three sons. They also have a granddaughter who is 2 1/2years old.
                Their oldest son, Dr. Reid, is 28 years old and lives with his wife in Oak Park, Ill. He will complete his residency at the Michael Reece Hospital in Chicago in June and has been offered a fellowship in nuclear medicine at the same hospital.
                Steven is 26 years old and resides with his wife in Northbrook, Ill. He is executive vice president of Permonite and is the finance department of the business.
                Scott is in the sales department at Permonite and is attending night school at Northwesten University for his master’s degree in business administration. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern last June. Scott is 22 years old and lives with his wife in Wheeling Ill.
               
Bill Printy, Printy’s Repair Shop
Neighbors in profile
October 18, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Printy “mechanic at heart”
                “When I was ten years old,” said Bill Printy, “I know I wanted to be a mechanic so I read every book about mechanics I could get my hands on.”
                But, Bill had to wait several years before his dream came true. A lot of farming was done during those non-mechanic days with a lot of dreaming and planning on the side.
                Bill said he had Cap Skinner to thank for giving him the opportunity to learn the trade and for being patient with him while he learned.
                In 1936, A.M. Skinner hired Bill as a shop mechanic to work under his brother, Cap, and work he did, learning all the tricks of the trade and enjoying every minute of his association with Cap Skinner.
                Then in 1941, Uncle Sam invited Bill to a war party and he served in the army for four years, seven months, 10 days and three hours.
                He was placed in a platoon for his basic training and he never left that platoon. When he was released from the army, he was in charge of the same platoon he started out with.
                In 1945, he returned to Morocco and to work for A.M. Skinner, but Cap was no longer his teacher. Cap had moved to California for health reasons and Roy Sheldon was in charge of the mechanical department.
                Three years later in the spring of 1948, Skinner decided to go out of the construction business and Bill and Roy Sheldon formed a partnership. They opened the Morocco General Repair Shop where Bill repaired the farm equipment and Roy took care of the automotive repair work.
                Roy suffered a heart attack in 1949 which forced him into an early retirement and Bill purchased Roy’s share of the business in 1955.
                The name of the business was changed to Printy’s Repair Shop and the automotive repair department was phased out. Printy’s Repair Shop became a farm shop. Bill was in seventh heaven. His dream had become a reality.
                The old adage, “all things good come to those who wait,” surely was intended to be a motto for Bill Printy.
                “I had over four hundred of the best customers in the world,” said Bill. “Sure I had maybe five customers who did a lot of griping but I know the good Lord had a good reason for mixing those five in with the others. It made me appreciate the non-gripers more and that made me a better person.”
                Bill said he always kept and appointment once it was made. He is proud of himself for giving the best service he was capable of giving and never playing favorites with the people who came to him for repairs.
                “I have to give my wife a lot of credit for my success in business,” said Bill. “She was my “gofer.”  Go for parts here and go for parts there. She also did all the book work besides making a comfortable home for us. With her help my life was much easier and much more pleasant.”
                He sold his business to Larry Bingham in 1974 and then worked for Larry for two years. He still drops in at the shop for an occasional visit, just to see how things are going and to get a little grease on his hands.
                When asked why he retired, he said his doctor advised him to keep his fee warm. He was suffering from poor circulation and his feet were always cold. He was being forced to do his work in warm weather and farmers need repairs the year round, thus a few changes had to be made. He retired after selling his business to “a very capable and likable fellow.”
                Bill, the son of Myrtle and Jim Printy, was born on March 10, 1912 in Enos. He attended Enos Grade School for eight years, and attended Morocco High School for part of his freshman year. He was needed at home and he dropped out of school to help with the farming.
                He was married to Mary Peevey Marshall on September 20, 1947. They are the parents of a daughter, Mrs. Jeff (Kay) Moss who lives in Bryan, Texas. Bill has two step-children and five step-grandchildren.
                Bill Marshall is married to the former Imelda Reyes and they have three daughters, Natalie, Tina and Tricia. The Marshalls live in Fordland, Missouri.
                Myra is married to Mark Davidson and they are the parents of John and Shelley. The Davidson’s live in Morocco.
                “I love to fish,” said Bill. “Ed Camblin and Bill Madden taught me how to fish and next summer they are going to teach me how to catch fish so I have a lot to look forward too.”
 
John Ringer, Ringer’s Barber Shop
Neighbors in profile
July 19, 1979       
By Donna LaCrosse
Shoeshine boy to barber
                “Shave and a haircut,  six bits.”
                Believe it or not, once upon a time, a shave and a hair cut cost seventy-five cents. And no one needed an appointment with their local barber. That was a few years ago, when barber shops featured a candy stripe pole out front and the barber inside was just as comfortable with a razor in his hand, as he was with a pair of scissors.
                John Ringer can tell you about those good old days. As a young lad, he worked as a shoe shine boy in a barber shop where he learned all about the barbering business between shoe shine customers.
                John was born in October, 1898 and was living in Newman, Ill. when World War I was declared in 1917.
                “I wanted to be the first one in the country to volunteer for the army,” said John, “so I enlisted in April before my eighteenth birthday in October. To join the army, we had to go to the local postmaster who got $5 a head for each one enlisting and when my mother found out about that, she almost ran the postmaster out of town.”
                He was stationed in Nogales, Arizona where he finished his education in the barbering profession.
                He also played football in the army and received a shoulder injury which put an end to his football career.
                “Each Company had a football team and we competed against each other in some pretty rough games,” remembered John. “I was the place kicker and did the punting for my team and I saved several games with my drop kicks before injuring my shoulder. Then it was all over and I was placed on special duty and the army sent me to Cook and Bakers School.
                While he was in school, his company moved to San Antonio, Texas and when he re-joined the company he was placed in the machine gun battalion. “I just didn’t appreciate my company doing that to me,” said John, “that’s where they put all the guys who misbehaved and I didn’t think I was a trouble maker.”
                When he joined the army, he was paid fifteen dollars a month and the end of three months; he received a dollar a day. After he completed the Cook and Bakers schooling, he was made Cook Sergeant and received six dollars more per month.
                He planned and cooked three meals a day for 250 men during the remaining two years he was in the service. While he was head man in the kitchen department, he made a change in the routine which involved one day a week in the life of a soldier. That change earned him the respect of the officers as well as the men.
                Sunday was like a holiday. “Everyone had to report for reveille and retreat and the rest of the day was free. After reveille, the men could go back to bed and sleep until noon, if they wanted,” said John, “just so they ate breakfast before dinner. Some of the guys didn’t eat dinner because they had breakfast so late but at least they got in some extra shut eye.”
                Breakfast on Sunday was served from 7 a.m. until noon and the men were treated to pancakes and eggs. The other two meals were served at their regular time and the kitchen was closed in between.
                “I always dreaded reveille on Sunday,” mused John, “because I knew if the commanding officer sprung an inspection on us, most of the men would be standing there in their birthday suits and an overcoat.”
                After serving 29 months in the army, John was discharged and returned to Newman where his mother was living.
 His brother, Paul, had been working in Morocco as a barber before being drafted into the army. After his discharge, he returned to Morocco and wanted John to move their mother to Morocco and go into barbering business with him.
                “I didn’t want to leave Newman,” said John, “but Mother did and she had the final say. So we moved and Paul and I had a barber shop in the building where the Shirer Insurance office is located now.”
                In 1939, John bought a piece of land for $400 from Dr. Triplett and a new barber shop and office building was erected on half the ground; the Morocco Courier building was built by Allan Augustine of the other half.
                It was in this new building, he spent his working days (when he wasn’t fishing) until his retirement in 1963.
                John and the former Evangeline Smith were married on October 23, 1923 and were the parents of a daughter, Marilyn Joyce. Evangeline passed away in 1977.
                Marilyn and her husband, DeWayne Bennett live in Hanover, Ind. and are the parents of three children, two girls and a boy.
                Joyce and Lee Walker live in Lowell, Ind. and have two daughters. Judy Spudville and her three children live in Upland Ind.  Johnnie passed away when he was six years old.
                John is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the American Legion.
                ‘I used to be kinda wild, I guess, but I think I’m a pretty good boy now,” said John, who shares his home at 102 South Main Street with a little brown fuzzy dog.
 
William Sammons, Sammons Law Office
Neighbors in profile
November 1, 1979             
By Donna Lacosse
3^rd  generation attorney
                William Sammons, attorney at law, came to Morocco from the neighboring town of Kentland in 1961. He liked the area so much; he returned a year later for a permanent stay.
                Bill worked as an apprentice for Ed Robinson during the summer months between his second and third year of law school. He was invited to return to Ed’s office, following graduation, for a full time employment and that’s when Bill adopted Morocco as his home.
                This was not foreign ground for Bill, his great-grandfather, Nicholas Sammons, was a druggist in Morocco, having arrived her from Canada in the 1880’s.
                Bill was born on March 12, 1937 and attended grade school in Kentland. He graduated from Kentland High School in 1955 where he played basketball, was on the track team and played in the band. He graduated from the Indiana University Business School in 1959 and from Indiana University Law School in 1962.                             
                Bill is a third generation attorney. His grandfather, Hume L. Sammons, practiced law in Kentland until his death in 1942. His father, George F .Sammons, has maintained a law practice for more than 55 years and is in partnership with Bill’s brother, George M. Sammons, in Kentland.
                Hopefully, the family tradition will continue. Todd, Bill’s oldest son is planning to enter law school in the fall of 1980.
                “When I started to work for Ed Robinson in 1962,” said Bill, “he told me that he intended to slow down and do a lot of hunting and fishing. What he didn’t say was that he intended to start his new way of life immediately.”
                The first day on a new job should be memorable one. For Bill, it was not only a day to always remember but one he couldn’t forget if he wanted to.
                That was the day his new boss informed him he was leaving on a hunting trip the next day. To add insult to injury, Bill was also told there was a jury trial in Jasper County scheduled for the following day at which time Bill would be trying his new wings.
                “Needless to say,” said Bill, “Ed left on his hunting trip and I went to Rensselaer totally unprepared. Fortunately for me, and our client, the case was settled about ten minutes before trial.”
                Bill entered into a partnership with Ed in 1963. In 1971, Ed retired and Bill was on his own, but not for long. Dan Blaney moved in to share some of the responsibilities in March, 1975 and John Casey joined the firm in 1977 and became a partner in 1978.
                In addition to the Morocco office, Sammons, Blaney and Casey have branch offices in Roselawn and Brook.
                Bill said he had been involved in several cases which were amusing, two of which were unforgettable. One pertained to a divorce action in which the husband and wife were in agreement upon the division of their household furniture and appliances and were agreed upon custody and support of the children. However, they continued to fight over the custody of their pet parakeet. Bill housed and fed the bird in his office for two weeks while the judge pondered over the situation. “I believe the judge awarded custody of the bird to the wife,” said Bill, “and granted the husband liberal visitation rights.”
                In another case, he represented a man who was accused of intentionally dumping several hundred pound of fresh chicken manure on a neighbor with whom he had been feuding for several years. “And,” said Bill, “the case was described and referred to in many ways, none of which can be printed in the paper.”
                Bill and the former Charline Molter of Kentland were married on August 26, 1961. Charline was a teacher in the Morocco High School from 1959 until 1961. After their wedding, new newlyweds lived in Bloomington until Bill graduated from I.U., after which they lived in Kentland for a short time and moved to Morocco in the fall of 1962.
                They are the parents of three children. Todd, 17, is a senior and Brad, 15, is a sophomore at North Newton High School. Nancy, a seventh grader in the Mt. Ayr Junior High School, is 12 years old.
                Bill is a member of the Morocco Lions Club, the K.P. Lodge, Masonic Lodge, and Newton County Bar Association of which he is a past president and the Indiana State Bar Association. He has been admitted to practice before the Indiana Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. He is also a member of the Bete Theta Phi Social Fraternity and the Phi Delta Phi National legal Fraternity.
                Fishing and hunting are favorite past times, when he can find the time to pamper himself.
                “My ambition as a high school senior was to be successful in business,” said Bill. “I guess this really hasn’t changed throughout the years, but I’ve learned that there is a lot more to life than success in the business field. Thanks to Ed and the people in our community, my ambition has been fulfilled.”
 
Bob Shirer, Shirer’s Insurance Agency
Neighbors in profile
March 6, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Heads prosperous insurance agency
                Bob Shirer adopted Morocco as his home town in 1940 when he left his native home in Rensselaer to marry a Morocco girl.
                That was 40 years ago and he has never had any regrets of making the move nor of marrying the girl.
                Bob was born in Rensselaer on Oct. 20, 1920 and graduated from Rensselaer High School in 1939. He attended the Gallagher Business College in Kankakee for one year and then moved to Morocco where he became engaged in farming, a career that lasted for 20 years.
                He became an agent for State Farm Insurance in 1961 and on Jan. 1, 1964, he entered into a partnership with L.P. Ringer in the Ringer Insurance Company in Morocco.
                In Oct. 1968, Bob purchased the Ringer half of the business when Paul retired and to this date, he has no immediate retirement plans.
                Bob and the former Ruth Ann Kessler were married on Aug. 10, 1940. She is a 1939 graduate of Morocco High School and also attended Gallagher Business College in Kankakee for one year.
                Ruth Ann denies Bob’s charge that she followed him to Kankakee, but the fact is that they went to college at the same time and they returned home at the same time. Now the reader can draw his own conclusion as to who was following who.
                The Shirers are the parents of two children, Lee and Linda.
                Lee was born on June 14, 1941 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1959. He is a grain and stock farmer near Morocco.
                His wife is the former Janice Garmong, is a 1960 graduate of Morocco High School and a graduate of St. Joseph College with a masters degree from Purdue. She is a fourth grade teacher in the Morocco Elementary School.
                Lee and Janice have two sons, Troy Allen and Bradley Scott.  Troy and his wife, the former Terri Corrie are graduates of North Newton High School and are students at Ball State University in Muncie. Bradley is a sophomore at North Newton High School.
                Linda, Bob and Ruth Ann’s daughter was born on Nov. 23, 1943. She graduated from Morocco High School in 1961 and is a 1965 graduate of Purdue University. She married Ralph Lindgren on June 26, 1965 and was a school teacher for three years before retiring to become a homemaker. She and her family live in Orchard Lake, Michigan.
                Ralph is a Mechanical Engineer graduate of Purdue University and is chief engineer of the Test Service Group at Eaton Corporation Research Center in Southfield, Michigan.
                The Lindgren’s are the parents of two children, Brett Shirer 10 and Tamara Lee, 7.  Brett is a student at the Kissington Academy and Tamara attends the Academy of Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills Michigan
                Bob is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Masonic Lodge, United Methodist Church, Morocco Lions Club, Elks Lodge, and Hazelden Country Club and is an honorary Kentucky Colonel. He is also president of the North Newton retirement Homes, Inc.
                He enjoys reading, golfing, playing bridge and fishing. He also has a bit of wanderlust in his blood and, like all busy people would enjoy being able to travel more.
 
Tom Shuey, Shuey Insurance Agnecy
Neighbors in profile
October 23, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Back home again in Morocco
                “My goal in life was to come back home,” said Tom Shuey, local insurance agent. “And that plan made my life more tolerable during the necessary time I was away from Morocco.
                And he did return. After an absence of fourteen years following his graduation from Morocco High School in 1959, Tom returned home in 1973. He purchased the Smart Agency from Ethel Smart following the death of her husband, Harley.
                Tom was born in Morocco on April 27, 1941 and received his B.S. Degree in Speech and Hearing Therapy at Ball State University in 1963. He was employed by the Muncie School Corporation as a speech and hearing teacher for three years during which time he attended Ball State in the evening as he worked toward receiving his master’s degree.
                In 1967, he entered the air force where he remained for four years following officer’s training school.
                Following his discharge in 1971, Tom became a sales representative for Texaco Incorporated in Indianapolis and was transferred to Fort Wayne where he worked until 1972.
                At that time, he was offered and accepted, a job with the All-State Insurance Company in Fort Wayne where he remained for one year. He also attended an insurance school in Chicago during that year.
                In June of 1973, he returned to his home town where he reigns as king at The Smart Agency located on State Street in downtown Morocco.
                On January 13, 1962, Tom married the former Joyce Antcliff of Brook. They are the parents of two daughters, Beth, 12, a seventh grader at Mt. Ayr Junior High School and Debbie, 10, a fifth grader at Morocco Elementary School.
                His hobbies include golf, tennis, swimming and basketball. He commented that perhaps he was a little old to be playing basketball but still enjoyed the game and wasn’t quite ready to be “just a spectator.”
“I’ve lived in enough cities to last me a lifetime,” said Tom. “During the time I was a city dweller, I became fully convinced that small towns were the best place to live and raise a family. I have returned to my small town and this is exactly where I plan to stay.”
 
Milt Storey, Storey’s Implement
Neighbors in profile
December 6, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
Farmer turned businessman
                Milt Storey, farmer turned businessman, is a home town “boy” who has been content to live and work in Morocco all his life.
                He is another good example of the advantage of living and being happy in a small community where everyone knows everyone else.
                Milt was born on July 30, 1916 to Opal and Archie Storey. He played basketball in high school and graduated from Morocco High School in 1935.
                He and the former Florence Mashino were married on June 1, 1935. Milt became a partner in the farming business with his father where he remained until 1945 when he began farming for himself.
                In 1947, he entered a partnership with his brother-in-law, Ray Baird, and the Baird and Storey Implement Company came into being. Baird retired in May, of 1953 and sold his share of the business to Milt and the name of the business was changed to Milt Storey Implement Company. It is widely known in the community as a place where farmers shop. New and used machinery can be purchased at the Storey Implement Company which is also a hospital for major and minor repairs for the “sick” farming equipment.
                Dale LaCosse entered into a partnership with his father-in-law in 1970 which gave Milt a little extra free time to fish and hunt.
                Milt has been the Newton County Republican chairman since 1964: served as trustee in the Morocco Methodist Church for several years and is a trustee for the Knights of Pythias Lodge. He is a member of the Orak Shrine of Hammond and is a 32^nd degree Mason.
                He is a member of the Morocco Knights of Pythias Lodge, the Masonic Lodge, the Methodist Church, the Methodist Men’s Club and the Morocco Lions Club. He and his wife are members of a square dance club that was organized in 1951 during the Morocco Centennial and has continued to meet once a month for the past 28 years.
                Milt and Florence are the parents of three children. Jack and his lovely wife, the former Bonnie Barnett, live on a farm east of Morocco. Bonnie is a teacher in the North Newton School system. The couple has three children. Terry is married to Kerry Brownfield and they manage the license branch. Tim is a North Newton graduate and Trudy is attending North Newton High School.
                Peggy is part owner of the Balcony Interiors Store in Morocco. She is married to Dale LaCosse and they are the parents of two children. Jeff a 1975 graduate of North Newton is employed at the Storey Implement Store and his wife, the former Chris Hanger is kept busy managing their three year old son, Mathew. Peg and Dale’s daughter, Kim, also a North Newton graduate, is employed by a travel agent and lives in Florida.
                The baby in the Storey family is Shirley, wife of Dennis Deardurff, the friendly oil dealer in Morocco. They have two children, Danny and Deena, both students in the Morocco Elementary School.
                “And”, said Milt, “I’m going to be a great-grandpa two more times in the very near future.
When asked what he was going to do when he retired, Milt answered, “I’m going to hunt and fish whenever and as often as I want. There’s one thing I’m not going to look for and that’s employment. Now it’s time to have some fun and that’s the direction in which I’m headed.”
 
Alice Warne, Morocco Elementary Secretary, Artist
Neighbors in profile
August 9, 1979
By Donna LaCosse
 
Granny turns artist
                Alice Warne may be “granny” to twenty eight grandchildren but she certainly doesn’t sit in her rocker all day, thinking about the good old days.
                She paints-not houses but pictures. She has painted twenty some pictures and recently won a second and third place ribbon for two of her creations.
                Alice hasn’t always handled a paint brush. In fact, until a year ago, she wasn’t really sure which end of the brush to hold in her hand nor did she ever dream of being able to express herself on a canvas.
                “Isn’t it strange,” said Alice, “when your children are little and there aren’t enough hours in the day, how you wish you had time to do this or that?”
                Then all of a sudden, she became a widow. One by one, the children left home and Alice became a working woman in order to fill all the empty hours.
                She was secretary in the Morocco Elementary School for ten years. “Those little one’s have a way of worming themselves into your heart,” said Alice, “and I really enjoyed being around them. Every day was interesting and different.”
                She retired two years ago to become a lady of leisure and decided doing nothing was not for her so last year, she enrolled in an oil painting class and discovered she did have a hidden talent.
                “I’m no Norman Rockwell,” said Alice, “but I am sure having fun.”
                Alice Purdy was born in Morocco on June 11, 1912. She graduated from Morocco High School in the spring of 1930 and became Mrs. Delos Warne on July 31 of that same year.
                Delos was born in Mt. Ayr and lived there until his family moved to Minnesota when he was eight years old. He returned to Morocco in 1928 and was working at a gas station when Alice met him.
                Following their wedding, Delos had an occasion to drive a truck for his brother-in-law, Bill Kay for a short period of time and soon discovered he had another love in his life-that of trucking.  He decided to go into business for himself and purchased a truck for $50 down. He borrowed another  $50 from his brother so he could build a stock rack and a grain bed and the Warnes were in business.
                Alice answered the phone, arranged the hauling schedules and did all the bookkeeping while her husband drove.
                And drive he did-hauling stock to the Stock Yards in Chicago during the first part of the week and hauling grain to the elevators during the remainder of the week.
                One truck grew to four during the first four years and then he added a semi to his collection which made the job a little easier. It also involved more man power and more demands by the public.
                The Warnes purchased a corn sheller and then Delos, or one of his employees, would take the sheller to the farm, shell the corn and haul the shelled corn back to town to the elevators.
                “A hired man cost us $12 a week in 1939,” said Alice, “and they really put in a work week.” Things were different back then. When there was work to do, the men did it because the public demanded a first class performance.”
                Then the government stepped in and decided to seal all the corn. The farmers bought their own corn shellers and the Warnes retired their sheller.
                All the shelled corn was hauled to storage bins and sealed. When the price was right to sell, the government released the corn and the truckers had to place bids for hauling the grain into Chicago.
                Delos became ill and passed away on October 28, 1963. Jack and the second son became the manager of the trucking firm and Gene, the first born, went into the family business with Jack.
                Prior to being a secretary in grade school, Alice worked in the Morocco State Bank and at Spradlings Store. She enjoys people and has a host of friends.
                “I’ve lived in Morocco all my life,” said Alice, “and I would never want to live any place else.”
                She is the mother of eight children and twenty eight grandchildren
                Gene is married to the former Gayle Riley and they live in Hanna, Ind. Their daughter, Shawna became Mrs. Kevin Garner earlier this summer. Tammi graduated from South Central in May and Brian is a senior at South Central in Hanna.
                Jack, who lives in Morocco, has four children. Mike is a recent graduate of Rose Hullman in Terre Haute and is employed at Timkin Bearing in Canton, Ohio. Kim graduated from North Newton last year and is a secretary for a Steel Company in Lafayette.  Susan and Mark are attending school in Morocco.
                Jerry is married to Eleanor Sorenson and they reside in Momence. They are the parents of four children. Kirby has a partnership in a small business in Canada and Shelly works at Baker and Taylor in Momence. Lindsey and Angie are still at home.
                Joyce and Bill Wagnor live in Lowell and have three children. Carol is a senior at Ball State; Jim is a sophomore at Purdue and Jeff is a senior in high school.
                Judy, Mrs. Bill Armstrong, lives in Lake Village and has four children. Loris is in training to become an assistant manager for McDonalds in Rensselaer and Scott, Kevin and Lisa are still in School.
                Bob is married to the former Shari Brunton.  They live in Portage and have three small sons, Eric, Todd and Darren.
                Janet and Tom Allen have four children. Nathan, Christie, Tommy and Alisha and they live in New Castle, Ind.
                Jo Alice lives in Morocco with her husband, Barney Belt and they are the parents of Sheralee, Pam, and Tonya.
                Besides practicing to become a famous artist, Alice finds time to be a part time secretary at the Morocco Methodist Church. She also enjoys playing bridge.
                This in one grand lady. She has lived a full and productive life and the future promises to be an even more interesting one.
 
Brenda and Jim Whitlow, Whitlow’s Floral
Neighbors in profile
December 18, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Whitlow’s Floral now operating
                Another new business has been incorporated into the Morocco Central Business district. The new building is located on State Street, next door to Eva May’s Beauty Shop.
                This specialty shop has already proven to be a favorable place in which to purchase a special gift for a special person. It is also a pleasant place in which to browse.
                Whitlow’s Floral and Greenhouse first opened their doors to the general public on December l. The owners are Morocco natives, Brenda and Jim Whitlow. The store offers a variety of dried and silk floral arrangements, wall hanging, Christmas decoration, fresh flowers and live green plants.
                Jim was born on November 21, 1952 and graduated from North Newton High School in 1972. Brenda, a 1974 graduate of North Newton, was born on July 9, 1956. She is the daughter of Mary and Herschel Fisher of rural Morocco and Jim made his home with his grandmother, the late Mattie Whitlow.
                Following graduation, Jim was employed at Northway Products in Rensselaer for two years and then became an insurance agent with Farm Bureau, a company with whom he is still employed.
                Brenda, who worked at Permonite during her high school days, was employed at the Sammons Law office in Brook for nine months and then returned to Permonite where she remained for the next two years.
                The couple was married on August 31, 1974 and is the parents of three boys. David was born on May 21, 1976; Chad, March 19, 1979 and Justin was born on March 18, 1980.
                Brenda and her sister, Pam Brown, attended the American Floral Art School in Chicago during the month of October. Pam is assisting in the store as is Gerrie Thomas of Roselawn, who has had seven years’ experience in floral arranging.
 
Keith Wiltfang, Golden Rule Grain Elevator
Neighbors in profile
April 24, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
 
Keith Wiltfang, Manager Golden Rule Grain Elevator
                Another “behind the scenes” business man in Morocco is Keith Wiltfang, manager of the
Golden Rule Grain Elevator which is located directly behind Brandt’s Chevrolet in Morocco.
                Keith was born on May 11, 1941 in Watseka, Ill. He attended Donovan Grade School for one and a half years, and then moved with his family to Morocco where they resided on a farm south of town. He attended Ade Grade School and is a 1959 graduate of Morocco High School.
                During his high school days, he played football and was a member of various school organizations.
                He began working at Inland Steel in East Chicago in February 1960 where he remained as a faithful employee for sixteen years.
                In 1976 he became the assistant manager of the Golden Rule Grain Elevator where he served in the capacity of manager for the past year.
                Keith and the former Mary Sheldon of Morocco were married on March 10, 1962. They are the parents of two daughters.
                Stacey, 16, was born on August 10, 1963 and is a junior at the North Newton High School and Debra, 13, is a seventh grader at the Mt. Ayr Junior High School. She was born on September 19, 1966.
                The Wiltfangs are members of the St. Luke Lutheran Church in Rensselaer where Keith served as the Church secretary last year.
                Mary is employed as a bookkeeper at the Milt Storey Implement Company is Morocco and is president of the North Newton Music Booster.
                Keith is president of the Morocco Lions Club and is a member of the Morocco Town Board.
                As a hobby, he enjoys fishing and gardening.
               
Bob Williamson, People’s Drug Store
Neighbors in profile
February 14, 1980
By Donna LaCosse
Peoples Drug Store operated by same family since 1912
                The Peoples’s Drug Store in Morocco has been a family business since 1912 when J. (Mike) Padgett and Claude E. Williamson formed a partnership and purchased the drug business from Silas Recher who was the local pharmacist at that time.
                Soon after the ending of WWI, Ross Padgett became a partner, replacing his father, Mike and when Claude Williamson died in 1940, his wife, Bertha, became a partner in the business. A three-way partnership was placed into effect when Bob Williamson, son of Claude and Bertha, entered the business world in 1945.
                When Ross Padgett died in1952, Bob purchased his share of the business and then he purchased the building from the Recher family in the late 1950’s.
                Bob inherited his mother’s share of the business when she died in 1968 and he remained the sole owner until 1970, when his son Mike became a co-partner.
                The Peoples Drug Store has been located in the same spot and has been in the same family for 68 years. It is a friendly place to shop and the employees are always willing to help in any way they can.
                Bob Williamson was born on May 13, 1915 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1933. During his high school days, he participated in football, basketball and track even though he was a “skinny little kid.”
                He graduated as a Pharmacist from Purdue University in 1937 and then came back home to work in the drug store. The following year, he taught in the Valparaiso School of Pharmacy and received his Masters Degree from Purdue in 1940.
                Along about this time, an invitation came from Uncle Sam and Bob spent the next four years in the army, during which he was stationed in Iceland for a year and a half.
                Then it was back home again to Morocco where he joined his wife, the former Cay Bowman of Remington, to whom he was married on Aug. 18, 1940.
                “I also began to practice my profession again,” said Bob, “and I’ve been here ever since. You might say, old pharmacists never retire, they just keep on counting pills.”
                Bob was the track captain in Purdue in 1937 and is a life member of the Pharmaceutical Association. He is a member of the Morocco Lions Club, Masonic Lodge, American Legion and the United Church of Morocco. He served as the first president of the Lions Club after it as reorganized in 1951.
                He was the first recipient of the George Award presented by the Lafayette Journal and Courier.
                Bob and Cay are the parents of two children and seven grandchildren.
                Mike, who is a partner in the family business, was born on Jan. 3, 1942 and graduated from Morocco High School in 1960. He and the former Shirley Bower are the parents of five children. Jeff, 20, is a sophomore at Purdue; Mark, 18, is a senior and Brett, 16 is a junior at North Newton High School. Joe is 14 and an eighth grader in the Mt. Ayr Junior High School and Michelle, at the age of 10 is in the fourth grade in the Morocco Grade School.
                Patricia, a 1967 graduate of Morocco High School, was born on Nov. 5 1948. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Purdue in 1971 and her Masters Degree in 1979. Pat is presently teaching fourth grade in the Lincoln Grade School.
                Her husband, Oscar Reyes, is employed by the Kentland Bank and they are the parents of two children, Robby 10 and Rachel 6, both students in the Lincoln Grade School.
                “We really like to travel,” said Bob, “and do so whenever we get the chance. I think the most memorable trip we were on was the three week trek to Egypt and the Holy Land in 1966.” On the way home from that trip, they spent two days in Athens and in Rome, which they thoroughly enjoyed.      As a hobby, Bob collects stamps and is an avid student in Genealogical Research, studying the Williamson family roots.
 
 
Mike Williamson, Beaver Township Trustee
Neighbors in profile
February 26, 198
By Donna LaCosse
Beaver Twp. Trustee past eight years
                Mike Williamson, “the other half” of the Peoples Drug Store and Radio Shack partnership, has also served as the Beaver Township Trustee for the past eight years.
                “As a trustee,” said Mike, “and a resident of Beaver Township, I am very proud of our township park. The pool was already installed before I became trustee but I’m responsible for the tennis courts and the ball fields.”
                There are only two township parks in the state of Indiana, one at the west edge of Morocco and the other one is Wicker Park near Schererville.
                Mike is a 1960 graduate of Morocco High School and was on the football and basketball teams during his freshman and sophomore years.
                He is the past president of the Morocco Lions Club; a member on the board of directors for the George Ade Memorial Association and is past president of the Beaver Lake Conservation Club.
                He is also a former Justice of the Peace and was the youngest Justice of the Peace ever elected in the State. He was 21 years old at the time he was sworn into office.
                Mike served as a Scout Master for the local Boy Scout troop for one year and has been a member of the Knights of Pythias for twenty years.
                He is a life member of the National Rifle Association; a life member of the National Wild Life Foundation and is presently serving as an aid for the United States Senator Richard Lugar.
                Mike and his wife, the former Shirley Bower, are both avid sports fans which is probably a good thing since they are the parents of four boys who are active participants in the sporting programs offered in the various schools in which they are students.
                They also have a daughter  who is not old enough as yet, to be involved in the athletic program at the grade school level, “but,” said Mike, “give her time. She isn’t about to let the boys get one step ahead of her in anything.”
                Sounds as though the Williamson’s just might have eight more years of late suppers, dirty uniforms and bruised kids.
                Their oldest son, Jeff, 20, is a sophomore at Purdue and a member of the University football squad. Mark, at 18, is a senior at North Newton High School and is involved in football, basketball and track. Brett, 16, is a junior in the same school and participates in Football, basketball and baseball. Joe, an eighth grader at Mt. Ayr, is involved in Junior High football, basketball and track. He is 14 years old.
Last, but not least, is 10 year old Michelle who might like to consider swimming, wrestling, cross country, volleyball or golf, which are sports her brothers have not had time to participate in.
                Fishing and hunting are very important non-school sports for the Williamson family, who also enjoy snowmobiling during the winter months.
                “We also like to go camping,” said the father of all these active young people, “but we just can’t seem to find the time to do much of that right now. At least we have that to look forward to when we get to old to keep up with the kids.”