Paula Dunn
Hamilton County and the Polio Epidemic
There’s been so much talk lately about the possibility polio vaccination requirements could be watered down, or done away with altogether, this seemed like a good time to examine the impact polio had on Hamilton County before vaccines were available. If you’re not entirely sure what polio is — after all, it hasn’t existed in…
Read MoreServing Up Some Jim Dandy Memories
I would have liked to have written this column before Noblesville’s Jim Dandy closed, but the schedule just didn’t allow it. Nevertheless, the Jim Dandy was such a large part of my life and of the lives of so many other Hamilton County residents, I couldn’t let its passing go unremarked. When I was growing…
Read MoreSaluting 2024
Notable Nineties, Sensational Centenarians From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn Normally, I would have saluted our Notable Nineties and Sensational Centenarians in the last column of 2024, but the holidays interfered with that, so I’m paying tribute to them at the beginning of 2025 instead. For anyone who doesn’t know about the Notable Nineties,…
Read MoreAnother Noblesville Fire and Other Reader Feedback
Time for some reader feedback! After the column on downtown Noblesville fires ran, Michael Kobrowski and Larry Cloud both brought up a blaze that took place March 24, 1957 on the north side of the courthouse square. I didn’t include that fire in the earlier column because: A, there were no deaths or serious injuries,…
Read MoreThe case of the Indian Murders
Two hundred years ago on Oct. 7, a man named James Hudson went on trial in Madison County for his role in what early local historians referred to as “The Indian Murders.” While it’s questionable whether this was, as some have claimed, the first time in this country’s history that a white man was held…
Read MoreDillinger Hysteria Hits Westfield
From Time to Thyme By: Paula Dunn Last week I wrote about my efforts to learn if John Dillinger’s body had really made a stop outside the Westfield Cafeteria on its way to Indianapolis for burial, as Helen (Carey) McColgin had said. That’s not the only time she believed Dillinger visited the Westfield Cafeteria, though.…
Read MoreMore on Dillinger and Sheriff’s Residence
Thanks to a couple of readers, I’ve got some details to add to past columns. Sandy Lynch, the director of the Hamilton County Historical Society Museum, sent some photos of the Sheriff’s Residence and Jail with — and without — the garage and tower. Garage? I’d completely forgotten there used to be a garage. (I’d…
Read MoreThe Carnival of Vice
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn This week we’re journeying back 122 years to Noblesville’s 1902 street fair. According to an 1898 Louisville Courier Journal article, street fairs — fairs held on streets in the heart of a city — were THE thing in the Midwest at that time, taking the place of “the…
Read MoreSchool Nicknames, Kindergarten Memories and a History Mystery
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn Time for another reader column! Several weeks ago when I asked for information on the origins of Hamilton County’s various high school nicknames, Jeanne Flanders wanted me to include the county schools that are no longer around — Walnut Grove, Jackson Central, Cicero, Arcadia, Atlanta, Adams Township/Boxley and…
Read MoreClay 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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