Paula Dunn
Virtual Museum Features New Exhibits
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn Spring has brought a change of exhibits to the From Time to Thyme Virtual Museum! Come on in and don’t crowd — there’s room for everyone (especially since this is a museum that only exists in cyberspace.) Our first exhibit is an artifact Jacob Case dug up in…
Read MoreOur Man Inside The Carter Administration
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn When I heard the sad news about former President Jimmy Carter entering hospice care, my thoughts automatically drifted back to Noblesville’s man in the Carter White House, Tim Kraft. I never met him, but I sure knew his father, Dr. Haldon Kraft. Dr. Kraft delivered me and was…
Read MoreFrom Time To Thyme
Since March is Women’s History Month, this seemed like the perfect time for a column on Frances Neal Ellis. I’d be willing to bet most people who just read that sentence are muttering “Who the heck is Frances Neal Ellis?” right now. Don’t feel too bad if you’re one of them. I didn’t know who…
Read MoreRemembering Clean Laundry
In the last reader column, I tried tracing the history of the old laundromat building, one of the structures at the intersection of Noblesville’s Tenth and Pleasant Streets that was recently razed for the Pleasant Street project. That column prompted a response from Martha Tunget Spurrier. Martha has good reason to remember that building —…
Read MoreA New Truth or Tall Tale Quiz
As you know, I get most of the historical information for this column by poking around in the old newspapers. I’ve found they tend to provide the most accurate accounts of whatever I’m researching, especially if they’re contemporary to the subject matter. However, even the newspapers don’t always get their facts straight. That’s why it’s…
Read MoreHere’s Another Roberts Settlement Success Story
Despite its small size and rural setting, the African American farming community of Roberts Settlement produced a number of successful professionals — doctors, lawyers, ministers, politicians, businessmen and especially, educators. More educators came out of Roberts Settlement than any other profession, a feat that’s all the more impressive when you consider that most of the…
Read More“Kitterman International,” the Dairy Queen and the Old Laundromat
We haven’t had a reader column for a while. It’s time to correct that! Going way back to November, my Anonymous Friend commented that the column on Sheridan’s Blackhawk Airport stirred up memories of his four years studying aviation at Noblesville High School with Don Roberts. He recalled that Don used to take his aviation…
Read MoreDo You Remember? . . . 10th and Pleasant
My friend, Pam Ferber, recently gave me some newspaper clippings her late mother, Pat Gibbs, had saved. Pat was very interested in genealogy and local history, and she’d cut out a LOT of articles. Among Pat’s clippings are some titled “Remember When?” and “Do You Remember?” A little research revealed that this was a feature…
Read MoreThe Wit and Wisdom of Betsy Birdwhistle
It always saddens me when I go through the obituaries and find a name I need to remove from the Notable Nineties list. It’s even worse, however, when I have to remove one of our Sensational Centenarians. This past year I had to take two Sensational Centenarians off the list, both of whom were friends…
Read MoreThe ‘Creeking’ Wheels of Father Time Keep On Passing Into the Abyss
Because I run the annual tribute to the Notable Nineties at New Year’s, I’ve never explored the way New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day used to be observed in this county. This year I decided to be different. With both Noblesville and Hamilton County celebrating a bicentennial in 2023, it seemed an appropriate time…
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