Paula Dunn

By Paula Dunn Memorial Day, 1963 With the Powers That Be seemingly intent on replacing most of the Noblesville I knew when I was growing up here in the 1960s and ‘70s, I’ve been feeling more than a little nostalgic lately. As a result, I decided this week to rev up the old time machine…

I often see stories in the old newspapers that remind me of something I learned a long time ago in my history classes — although circumstances are always changing, human nature never does. In other words, people in the past could be just as mischievous as anybody in 2023. I offer Exhibit A: The August…

By Paula Dunn Hamilton County Quiz, Adam Township Adams Township is the Hamilton County Bicentennial Commission’s featured township in May. That means it’s time for the Adams Township quiz! Here’s another chance to test your knowledge of Hamilton County history . . . 1. Sheridan wasn’t always known as Sheridan. What was it originally called?…

By Paula Dunn Continuing Hamilton County’s Early Quaker History . . . As might be expected, the county’s greatest concentration of Friends was in Washington Township, with Westfield at the center of the “Rainbow of Peace.” Founded by Quakers, Westfield held its first organized Friends meeting in 1834. The website quakermeetings.com shows three entries for…

By Paula Dunn A Brief History Of Hamilton County If you know anything about Hamilton County history, you’re probably aware that Westfield was founded by Quakers — or, more formally, the Religious Society of Friends — and that it played a major role in the Underground Railroad. Westfield gets so much attention that I think…

By Paula Dunn Jackson Township History Quiz Are you ready for another quiz?  I know it hasn’t been that long since the first one, but April is Jackson Township’s month in the Bicentennial spotlight and I promised to catch up. See how well you know your Jackson Township history. (Again, this shouldn’t be too difficult…

By Paula Dunn Got a case of spring fever? I have just the remedy for you! The Blatchley Nature Study Club will be holding their annual Spring Wildflower Walks next Saturday, April 15th, and again on April 29. The April 15th date has been scheduled to catch early blooming wildflowers. The April 29 walk is…

By Paula Dunn White Rived Township Quiz In case you haven’t heard, Hamilton County and Noblesville are both turning 200 this year. To celebrate, every month from March to November one of the county’s nine townships is being highlighted by the Bicentennial Commission. I decided to observe the Bicentennial in this column by doing a…

By Paula Dunn Forget robins. There are two even more reliable signs that spring has arrived — Gatewood’s is open again and selling pansies, early vegetable plants and other items for the garden, and the Herb Society of Central Indiana is taking registrations for their annual Spring Symposium. The theme of this year’s HSCI Symposium…