Clay Township Quiz

By Paula Dunn Well, we’ve come to the last township to be highlighted during the Bicentennial celebration. It’s time to test your knowledge of Clay Township history! 1. Who was Clay Township’s first settler? 2. Carmel/Clay Township is known for its roundabouts. When was the first roundabout built? 3.  When Home Place was laid out…

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Halloween In The 1960s

By Paula Dunn I may be old, but I’m glad I was born when I was. Growing up in the 1960s meant I was a kid when Halloween was still primarily geared toward kids. Back then, the holiday was mostly about going trick-or-treating — accent on the “treat.” Oh, there were a few tricks, but…

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The Wooly Worm/Persimmon Seed Forecast, 2023-2024

By Paula Dunn Here it is — this year’s winter weather forecast column! Before I get started, though, I want to issue the usual disclaimer: I don’t really forecast the winter weather. I just provide data from the folk signs that Sheridan’s weather expert, Clara Hoover, used to create HER forecasts. I’ll leave it to…

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The Delaware Township Quiz

By: Paula Dunn Hamilton County’s Bicentennial celebration moves to Delaware Township in October. Are you ready to test your knowledge of Delaware Township history? 1. True or False — Delaware Township has always covered the same geographic area. 2. One of Hamilton County’s covered bridges used to be located in Delaware Township. What was its…

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A Little Allisonville Road History

By Paula Dunn I always thought the migration of wealthy movers and shakers from Indianapolis to Hamilton County was a phenomenon that began during my lifetime, so I was surprised to run across a story in the January 28, 1912, Indianapolis Sunday Star Magazine that proves it actually started long before that. The article’s headline…

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The Indiana “Water Boy”

By: Paula Dunn I have to confess, I knew very little about Clarence Geist, the man for whom Geist Reservoir was named, until I started working on that Fall Creek Township quiz. The more I dug into his life, however, the more I felt he was worth a column of his own. Although he was…

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From Time to Thyme

Peanuts And Lost Noblesville Landmarks By: Paula Dunn More reader feedback! The reference to peanut socials in the column about strange fads caught the eye of my Texas cousin, Kermit Ross. Kermit noted that years ago our relative, Byron “Doc” Ross, used to celebrate the Christmas season by setting out a bushel basket of unshelled…

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The Fall Creek Township Quiz

By Paula Dunn Fall Creek Township is the Bicentennial celebration’s featured township for September. That means it’s time for the Fall Creek Township Quiz! 1. What year was Fall Creek Township first settled and who was the first settler? 2. Who is the “Geist” in Geist Reservoir? 3. What old Fall Creek Township community now…

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Noblesville’s Lost Log Cabin

From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn If you’ve lived in this area as long as I have, I don’t have to tell you today’s Noblesville is nothing like the city I knew growing up here in the 1960s and ‘70s. I used to be comforted by the thought that at least I was surrounded…

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