01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4866 ) |
cartoonguy |
Hi Tom, I removed the link to this forum from the above Facebook; Planet Hammond, I ‘m sorry I should of asked if that would be ok first, once again I apologies and if you like I will post it only with approval.
Thanks |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4867 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by cartoonguy
Hi Tom, I removed the link to this forum from the above Facebook; Planet Hammond, I ‘m sorry I should of asked if that would be ok first, once again I apologies and if you like I will post it only with approval.
Thanks
Bill:
Hey, I am not the "boss" around here. I only "suggested" that we do not post public invitations to Sheptalk because of the total fiasco that the NWI Times message board and another Northwest Indiana message board became. I guarantee you, we would end up the same way around here, with people flaming each other and people posting profanity.
I would like for us all to send personal invitations to people whom we know would enjoy the reminiscing and would show respect towards fellow posters. I treasure the peace and the camaraderie that we have always had here. I love to see new members show up just as much as anyone, but only if they are here to contribute and not to "stir the pot."
I have absolutely no more authority over this message board than does any other member, so I can only ask this as a favor.
Thanks for removing the link, and for my part, I would like to see you leave it off, but that is up to you.
Tomster
|
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4868 ) |
BobK |
I found this YouTube link to Goldblatt's there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRLYTWwDrvw
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4870 ) |
cartoonguy |
No problem, I will leave it off. |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4871 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by cartoonguy
No problem, I will leave it off.
Thanks, Bill.
And, thank you for posting the Facebook link to the Planet Hammond thing. I have become a fan and have made my first post!
Tom |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4872 ) |
gottifour |
Hi all! My cousin and I are running the Planet Hammond site and just wanted to say thanks for all of the great stories and pictures on your forum here. I posted some of them to the Old Hammond section of the page. I think most of the ones I posted were from the Purdue archives so I hope I didn't offend anyone. You are all welcome to join and as always...
THINK Hammond! :)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Planet-Hammond/267975613540
I Love Hammond! |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4873 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by gottifour
Hi all! My cousin and I are running the Planet Hammond site and just wanted to say thanks for all of the great stories and pictures on your forum here. I posted some of them to the Old Hammond section of the page. I think most of the ones I posted were from the Purdue archives so I hope I didn't offend anyone. You are all welcome to join and as always...
THINK Hammond! :)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Planet-Hammond/267975613540
I Love Hammond!
Welcome, gottifour.
Sheptalk is mainly for folks who remember Hammond in the "good old days," the times before the decline in population and before the death of Downtown.
Are you an old timer, like most of us here?
Tom |
01-31-2010
( Reply#: 4879 ) |
gottifour |
I'm actually maybe a few years younger :) 34, but I really appreciate all of the great stories and pictures posted here. I am a big fan of Hammond's history and seeing how hammond used to be. I also enjoy all of the camaraderie between all of the members here. I can only imagine how great it was to grow up in Hammond in the era all of you guys did.
I Love Hammond! |
01-31-2010
( Reply#: 4880 ) |
Tom J |
I guess you are David, then?
Hey, your idea to start Planet Hammond was a fantastic one. That place has taken off like a rocket!
Glad that you recognize what a super cool place Hammond used to be. I hope for the sake of those who still live there that it can recover some of its glory.
Make yourself at home here, "youngster." [:D]
Tom |
01-31-2010
( Reply#: 4885 ) |
gottifour |
[:D] Thanks for the welcome I will be here often reading more than posting I'm sure. I am actually Dustin Bruno and my cousin is Dave Jancosek. Our mothers last names were Hinton from south Hammond so I'm sure some here may know them or our dads.
I Love Hammond! |
01-31-2010
( Reply#: 4886 ) |
Tom J |
OK, then, welcome, Dustin! [:)] |
01-31-2010
( Reply#: 4887 ) |
gottifour |
Thank You!
I Love Hammond! |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4888 ) |
Jim Plummer |
In viewing Planet Hammond, there are sure a lot of younger people than we see on this site. I find it very interesting to say the least. It does make me wonder if there is a third site with people older than this group seems to be.quote:
Originally posted by Tom J
OK, then, welcome, Dustin! [:)]
|
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4889 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
In viewing Planet Hammond, there are sure a lot of younger people than we see on this site. I find it very interesting to say the least. It does make me wonder if there is a third site with people older than this group seems to be.quote:
Originally posted by Tom J
OK, then, welcome, Dustin! [:)]
I think it is really cool that the youngsters like Dustin and David are so interested in hearing about what Hammond was like in our days. I have never been all that interested in Hammond's history prior to the days when I was growing up there, but these guys really seem to want to know all about the Hammond that we remember.
Tom |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4890 ) |
gottifour |
I think, for me at least, driving up and down the streets of downtown Hammond and seeing all of the beautiful old buildings and remnants of what seemed to be a very busy and popular city at one time is really cool. I also love the stories about how people grew up in a different era then I did.Not saying that my era was bad necessarily, but just all of the differences between them. It really seemed like a time when people actually cared and looked out for each other in a lot of ways. It seems like people had genuine feelings for each other and truly cared! When I see people acting that way in todays day and age I get really happy and am surprised by it, which I wish it wasn't that way. Ok....Enough of that. :)
As far as another group of older folks goes, I know they are there with great memories and stories but in my opinion they may not have access or knowledge of computers to share them. I can tell you from my experiences in a lot of old timer's houses in Hammond that they have a lot of really cool stories to tell. I'm a Cable TV technician by the way!
I Love Hammond! |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4891 ) |
seejay2 |
Here is a little tidbit regarding the sentiment of the people back then.
I was about 15-16 at the time (1965) and I let a guy talk me into going to a shooting class that was held at Civic Center. It was held on Saturday mornings and was moderated by a teacher from Tech. You had to bring a .22 rifle and over the course of several weeks, he put you thru prone, sitting, standing positions. This involved about a dozen or so kids and you used live ammo, which I remember purchasing from the teacher. At the end of the course, you got some kind of certification for taking the course.
Well, being new to drivers permits and such, we couldn't always get a car to drive to the Civic Center. On those days, we boarded the #2 bus in front of Hill's Agency in Hessville, with our rifles, and for 10 cents apiece, we went to the Civic Center. NO ONE gave any more thought to the rifles we were carrying than if they were sack lunches. I dare you to try that now!..........Cj |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4892 ) |
gottifour |
That is a great story! I can just see a bunch of kids getting on the bus with rifles. If you tried that now you would probably labeled a terror suspect and sent to prison, not saying that I would want to be on the bus with a bunch of todays teenagers with guns either. Either way that is a great visual!
I Love Hammond! |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4893 ) |
BobK |
Those buses were great. For 10 cents and transfers you could go almost anywhere in the region.
You could be out at night playing and even hitch hiking without worry.
If you were in uniform you could hitch hike cross country and hardly have a wait.
A lot of great downtown buildings are gone but for those of us that frequented them they are not forgotten.
Does anyone roller skate anymore? There were several roller rinks in the area when I was a kid with an organist to play the music.
Ice skating was also big. I started skating at Harrison Park on hand-me-down hockey skates, we couldn't afford figure skates. The skating was OK but not great there. When me moved to the north side I went to Douglas Park (now Pulaski Park) and it was always kept in fantastic condition. Harrison Park used to have two lagoons with a bridge where they connected. The north lagoon was reeds and cattails when I was a kid but in earlier years it was also a swimming/fishing lagoon. My Dad's youngest brother drowned there and I was named after him.
When I was less than 10 years old (mid 40s to early 50s) there were no swimming pools at the parks. We had lagoons with sand beaches. I remember going to Irving and Douglas Parks with the family for picnics and swimming. I don't recall ever swimming at Harrison Park.
Wolf Lake was an adventure before there were beaches and the Toll Road went through it. There were a couple of islands you could get out to and play. Also on both side of Calumet between 141st St and the 41 Drive-in was also adventure land for us. There were no businesses along the stretch of Calumet back then, it was prairie and swamp. It was pretty much the same on Sheffield Ave between 136th and Wolf Lake.
When we were living on the south side we played in Erie Field (a prairie) which is now Henry Eggers Elementary School. Dr. Eggers brought me and my two younger brothers into this world at St Margaret Hospital. An Aunt & Uncle lived on Waltham St and I could go out their back gate, cross the alley and I was in the field. My best friend lived on Lewis St and I lived on Highland St.
Bob
[img]http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Bob1.jpg[/img] |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4894 ) |
S C Jones |
In my Grand Park neighborhood summer days began and ended outdoors. We got up grabbed something for breakfast and went outside. We could walk, run, play ball in the street and bike to Hessville. We had the "Little Store" on Grand where 171st deadended.
"We had the world on a string and were sitting on a rainbow"--at least as kids. Our parents were living a dream of their own with being able to afford a home in a nice neighborhood that had top-quality schools. Most parents in our neighborhood had been raised by European and East European immigrants; some were themselves immigrants and barely spoke English;some were from the south (my dad was) and many had come to Da Region because of the availability of work. On my street, Maryland Ave. in just the first 8 houses as you went from 173rd toward 172nd had a total of 17 kids all within 1-2 years of each other.
In summer, a baseball (not softball) game played in the street with mitts (mine was always borrowed) or on a snowy winter day, a cardboard box and sleds in the street were common. Yes, we fought--someone had boxing gloves, too and we had boxing matches--girls and boys. No one sat in the house all day watching a glowing tube. A couch was not for vegetating. There were board games for rainy days and always someone to come to your house to play or someone's house for you to go to to play.
It was an innocent time in our nation, not just our suburban neighborhoods. You could roam the woods and fields and play outside until bedtime with your parents having no worries about your safety. No one had more than they could afford--credit cards were not an addiction. Generally, you bought what you needed, not everything you wanted.
In 1956 or 57 , there was an Iseta 300 or 500 (an Italian 3 wheeler automobile in a show room window in downtown Hammond---It wasn't a car dealership, but one of the department stores. That may have been the beginning of "You can have it all" era.
(Google Iseta, if you haven't seen one--I thought at the time, that is the car I'd buy!)
|
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4895 ) |
gottifour |
Thanks for the great stories! You guys really paint a picture of how it used to be. It seems like a very peaceful time to grow up, people seem like they were happy and content with what they had. I really cant believe there were actual beaches where the parks are now. That is really cool, let alone the fact you could go to the "islands" in wolf lake and play. Really awesome stories guys! Thanks for sharing!
I Love Hammond! |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4896 ) |
Roger D |
Growing up in Hammond was great. As has been said you stayed outside all day and always had something to do. We rode bikes, played baseball, basketball, cowboys and indians, hide and seek, etc. and after dark it was time for flashlight tag.
I lived in North Hammond from 1951 until 1957 when my parents bought our first house in Hessville. The kids were just like those I was used to being with. Always something to do & someplace to go, winter and summer we stayed busy and behaved ourselves because the adults were there for every kid in the neighborhood. We had great child hoods!
The children of today have no idea how to enjoy living.
Roger D. |
02-02-2010
( Reply#: 4904 ) |
seejay2 |
The whole thing boils down to something sorely lacking in this country today. Common sense and respect! You gave respect, you got respect....Cj |
02-02-2010
( Reply#: 4906 ) |
Jim Plummer |
I once took a course in cable tv installation, fell off a phone pole, injured my back and decided to change careers. Your right about the oldsters and their stories. Back in the '70's I had a job delivering furniture for Mandel's Reliable Furniture on State street. One of the two brothers told me that back in the 30's they had a contract to supply all the furniture for a house of ill repute that was Located where the Seven Seas Lounge used to downtown.quote:
Originally posted by gottifour
I think, for me at least, driving up and down the streets of downtown Hammond and seeing all of the beautiful old buildings and remnants of what seemed to be a very busy and popular city at one time is really cool. I also love the stories about how people grew up in a different era then I did.Not saying that my era was bad necessarily, but just all of the differences between them. It really seemed like a time when people actually cared and looked out for each other in a lot of ways. It seems like people had genuine feelings for each other and truly cared! When I see people acting that way in todays day and age I get really happy and am surprised by it, which I wish it wasn't that way. Ok....Enough of that. :)
As far as another group of older folks goes, I know they are there with great memories and stories but in my opinion they may not have access or knowledge of computers to share them. I can tell you from my experiences in a lot of old timer's houses in Hammond that they have a lot of really cool stories to tell. I'm a Cable TV technician by the way!
I Love Hammond!
|
02-02-2010
( Reply#: 4907 ) |
gottifour |
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
The whole thing boils down to something sorely lacking in this country today. Common sense and respect! You gave respect, you got respect....Cj
I agree a million percent! That is the problem now and of the future! I really try to teach my son to respect everybody and everything, he does a really good job considering most of the kids around him do not. He is 10 by the way.
quote:
I once took a course in cable tv installation, fell off a phone pole, injured my back and decided to change careers. Your right about the oldsters and their stories. Back in the '70's I had a job delivering furniture for Mandel's Reliable Furniture on State street. One of the two brothers told me that back in the 30's they had a contract to supply all the furniture for a house of ill repute that was Located where the Seven Seas Lounge used to downtown.
I have a bucket truck now thankfully, only have to use my ladder in some areas of hessville and Schleicher! :)
I Love Hammond! |
02-02-2010
( Reply#: 4908 ) |
duane |
Perhaps some folks here are a bit older than I am. I don't want to leave our younger members with the idea that ours was an idylic world.
I wholeheartedly agree that our youth was very enjoyable and we knew how to "create fun" out of just about everything. I truly loved my life growing up, and I was blessed with wonderful parents, siblings and neighbors. I believe that we, as children, were often protected and, yes, naive, about some of the real world out there. And I think that was a good thing, because kids should be allowed to be kids and not have to face some of the more serious and saddening aspects of life that do exist out there, regardless of the times.
But I also remember that as I got into junior high, some things started to change. There was sometimes disharmony between the races at school, (even though many of us had good friends of other backgrounds) and sometimes these would erupt into large fights.
Some of my friends had fathers that were drunks (mine was not) and their families had to scrape to get by because all the father's paycheck went into booze and/or gambling. As we got older,I came to know families where the husband was violent to the wife. (again not mine). Few people would ever know these things, because those families always kept it quiet..but it did happen and probably more often than any of us like or want to remember.
My point is not to be a downer in all this. It WAS a great time to be a kid, we did have endless fun, and I enjoy reading all the stories here because they ARE true and they bring back such great memories that nearly all of us experienced. We always remember the good times...and that is good...I think we are wired to remember the good times. What fun is it to remember the bad/sad times?
Since this is the Sheptalk forum, perhaps this can best be summed up by looking at Shep's short stories and movies. They were always told from the standpoint of (Adult)Ralphie based upon the observations of Ralphie the young boy. The world of Shep's time is seen through young Ralphie's eyes. We see a world of wonder, of "kid-dom", the "effluvia of juvenalia" (to use Shep's words). But think about the old man...he slaves at the office, only gets 2 weeks off per year, battles with an old house, works in profanity the way other artists work in oils, fights furnaces, and lives next door to either the Bumphuses, or the Cosnowski's. I'm not sure how idylic his world really is. But I think Shep captured it accurately. I think our world was like that...we saw it and remember it from our perspective as kids. |
02-03-2010
( Reply#: 4909 ) |
S C Jones |
Well, to continue in the same vein as Duane's post.... There was the devastating toll that polio took in the early-mid '50s and there were long steel industry strikes that impacted the working class. We had flooded neighborhoods many springtimes. The air and dirt smelled from the industrial environmental impact. I related the story of the Collins' family murders on Orchard Drive in the 50's. I know of 4 residents of the 17 I mentioned earlier who in later life were felled by cancer. Reality and memory are not synonymous and one person in a given situation will have memories not too similar to another in that same situation.
So, in some ways life was no different from what it is now. We were and we are humans with human frailties. And in other ways, life was different from what it is now......SUCH IS LIFE. Duane, you are correct, memory is somewhat selective and most often on the side of good times.
We often remember that which has struck an emotional chord with us.. We may not remember the reason we remember something so vividly, but it is almost as though it were a motion picture we had viewed with us as the protagonists.....
Sorry, I get a bit carried away, I guess. Suffice it to say: WE LIKE REMEMBERING THE GOOD TIMES AND FIND DELIGHT IN HEARING OTHERS WHO GIVE A CLOSE DESCRIPTION
OF THOSE GOOD TIMES---s'called nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
|
02-03-2010
( Reply#: 4910 ) |
Jay |
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
....I was about 15-16 at the time (1965) and I let a guy talk me into going to a shooting class that was held at Civic Center. It was held on Saturday mornings and was moderated by a teacher from Tech. You had to bring a .22 rifle and over the course of several weeks, he put you thru prone, sitting, standing positions. This involved about a dozen or so kids and you used live ammo, which I remember purchasing from the teacher. At the end of the course, you got some kind of certification for taking the course....
This posting brought back some memories for me. My dad and I used to belong to the Hammond Civic Gun Club. Members also had to join the National Rifle Association.
This group used to meet in the basement of the Civic Center where there was a gun range. But I don't remember anyone using 22 caliber guns. We used the more powerful 38, 357 and 45 calibers. I also remember one member bringing in a black powder gun. When he was on the firing line, everyone else had to stop to cover their ears. Not only was the sound that loud, but the black smoke made us cough.
It was great finding a place to shoot our guns in the city to improve our marksmanship. Does anyone know if that range is still in use today? |
02-04-2010
( Reply#: 4911 ) |
seejay2 |
..I haven't heard of it in recent history and I seriously doubt if it exists today. I also have to take the other side of the story in that I never knew they did anything larger than .22 cal. This was all teen (except for the moderator)with rifles; no handguns at all..Cj |
02-04-2010
( Reply#: 4912 ) |
Tom J |
You'll shoot your eye out, kid. |
02-04-2010
( Reply#: 4913 ) |
Roger D |
In reply to SC Jones. Yes there was bad times growing up in Da Region. There was the big steel strike of '59 that lasted three months. The air was bad and many men were injured because of conditions in the mills. The area was still a great place for a man to earn a living and a good place to grow up. We can always see the bad of any area if we look for it.
By the way the Collins murders were not on Orchard Drive but on 176 st. which dead ended off of the 7600 block of New Hampshire. We moved to the 7600 block of New Hampshire soon after the murders.
Roger D. |
02-04-2010
( Reply#: 4914 ) |
S C Jones |
Roger, you could be correct as to the exact street---at the time I visited the Collin's household, (fall of 1953 or Spring of 1954) I do not think there was a posted street name, yet, their house had just been constructed and was on a large lot, or yet-to-be developed land--and it was near enough to my former neighbor's home which was on Orchard, that it was to their house that Opal ran after her rampage. Also, it could be that we referred to any house in that vicinity as being out on Orchard Drive, because the development of that land was only beginning and that was our reference point.
By the way the Collins murders were not on Orchard Drive but on 176 st. which dead ended off of the 7600 block of New Hampshire. We moved to the 7600 block of New Hampshire soon after the murders.
Roger D.
|
02-05-2010
( Reply#: 4915 ) |
Jim Plummer |
I never heard about the Collins murders before. Can someone supply the details of who what and why, if known |
02-05-2010
( Reply#: 4917 ) |
S C Jones |
The Collins family (Ben and Mrs. Collins, daughters Martha, Mary Sue, and a 5 or 6 yr. old son whose name I can't remember) moved to Indiana from KY in 1953 or 4 and moved into a house owned and newly built with money from an insurance settlement the accident had left the son, Ben Collins, Jr., a parapalegic. He, Ben Jr., had married Opal, but there was much dissension in the home regarding how the insurance money was spent and to whom the home and any other monies belonged.
It is my understanding that Opal had been married twice previously and had children by at least one of those marriages. When I visited the home as a Morton classmate of Martha; I was told by Martha that her brother and Opal were getting a divorce--she was showing me a family picture album. I did not meet Opal nor did I meet her husband. But I ate supper with the rest of the family and felt almost uninvited by the mother who seemed quite angry in her mannerisms. Suffice it to say, I never visited again and never wanted to.
One day in 1954 or 5?? Opal shot the mother, the daughters and her husband with a .22 rifle. The father was at work and the youngest son was asleep in his bedroom. I first heard about the shooting when a neighbor came to tell me that Martha had been killed. His mother was best friends with the neighbor, Jon Taylor, to whom Opal ran and said, "I just killed the whole damn family."
Opal was subsequently the first woman in Indiana sentenced to die. Her sentence was commuted and I think she was released from prison in the '60s. Now--that is my memory of the situation. It may not be totally accurate, since it was some 50+ years ago and the emotionality of it for me was quite strong, having been in the home; attending the trial, and visiting the funeral home as I did.
If my memory is correct, the Hammond Times stated that Martha had been shot numerous times--and my recollection is that I saw evidence of some of the shots at the viewing in the funeral home. Also, I do not know how much ammunition a .22 rifle holds, nor if it really was a .22.
I would love to be able to read the articles published in the Hammond Times now. But, I will not pay them to read what was paid for in the past and that is a part of history that should be public domain by now.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
I never heard about the Collins murders before. Can someone supply the details of who what and why, if known
|
02-05-2010
( Reply#: 4918 ) |
cartoonguy |
The Hammond Public Library downtown has the Times newspaper on microfilm, dating back many , many years, one could look this information up for free, plus it's cool to back in time. |
02-05-2010
( Reply#: 4919 ) |
cartoonguy |
Whoops…That should read go back in time. |
02-05-2010
( Reply#: 4920 ) |
S C Jones |
Hey, thanks for the info and I might get back to Hammond this year. That would be a fun thing to do, given the time
quote:
Originally posted by cartoonguy
The Hammond Public Library downtown has the Times newspaper on microfilm, dating back many , many years, one could look this information up for free, plus it's cool to back in time.
|
02-06-2010
( Reply#: 4922 ) |
Tom J |
Hey, Peeps, that Facebook Planet Hammond thing is definitely cool, and I have been hanging out there a lot, but we had a good thing going here with all kinds of posting going on not long ago. It has been too quiet around here for the last few days!
Let's get some action going around here!
Tomster |
02-07-2010
( Reply#: 4924 ) |
Jim Plummer |
I haven't done it in anumber of years, but one of my favorite things when visiting is to spend time at the library looking at microfilm of old Hammond Times. I never had to pay except for any copies I would make. I like to copy movie ads from Sunday and Friday.
Thanks for the info on the Collins family. I've not seen anything this deep on Planet Hammond-yet!quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Hey, thanks for the info and I might get back to Hammond this year. That would be a fun thing to do, given the time
quote:
Originally posted by cartoonguy
The Hammond Public Library downtown has the Times newspaper on microfilm, dating back many , many years, one could look this information up for free, plus it's cool to back in time.
|
02-07-2010
( Reply#: 4925 ) |
Roger D |
I lived on New Hampshire Ave around the corner from where the Collins murders happened. Before then I lived in North Hammond and in the fall of '56 there was a headline grabbing murder there. A man was supposedly killed by a hitch hiker. When all was said and done the mans wife and step son had planned and carried out the murder.
For several days the police searched for the hitch hiker in the area around the trailer park on Sheffield Ave. near the toll road. The only names I remember was the daughter in the family was named Maryann.
Some of you older than I (if anyone is) might remember more.
Roger D |
02-07-2010
( Reply#: 4928 ) |
gottifour |
Thanks for the information on this story S C Jones, Ive been Googling for days and couldnt find anything. I must have been searching for the wrong things.
I Love Hammond! |
02-07-2010
( Reply#: 4930 ) |
cartoonguy |
I always try to find time to visit the Library and check out the microfilm, what's neat is to look up the news of the day you were born, a funny thing about mine; I was delivered by a Dr. Costello at 10 am on a Sunday morning, at that same time a rerun of the Abbott and Costello show was playing, and on my fourteenth birthday Bud Abbott passed away, maybe that’s why I still enjoy old comedies to this day. |
02-07-2010
( Reply#: 4931 ) |
S C Jones |
You are welcome. If you google Opal Juanita Collins, you can get some info on her and the sentencing statistics for women in Indiana--but there seems to be little else on line. I did get an email once from one saying she was a granddaughter of Opal and wanting to know if I knew any more about Opal.... The internet age really makes this a different world we live in from the 1940--61 world of Hammond I knew.
quote:
Originally posted by gottifour
Thanks for the information on this story S C Jones, Ive been Googling for days and couldnt find anything. I must have been searching for the wrong things.
I Love Hammond!
|
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4932 ) |
wvcogs |
I did find some Hammond Times articles on NewspaperArchives.com from around 1956 regarding Opal's sentencing. Of course, I did have to pay for the service. Sorry about that S.C. Unfortunately, I don't live near NWI and have access to the local history room at the HPL.
Ken... |
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4934 ) |
Jim Plummer |
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person with this interest. All these years I thought my interest in the past was unique.quote:
Originally posted by cartoonguy
I always try to find time to visit the Library and check out the microfilm, what's neat is to look up the news of the day you were born, a funny thing about mine; I was delivered by a Dr. Costello at 10 am on a Sunday morning, at that same time a rerun of the Abbott and Costello show was playing, and on my fourteenth birthday Bud Abbott passed away, maybe that’s why I still enjoy old comedies to this day.
|
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4935 ) |
S C Jones |
Ken,
I have no doubt you would be digging up what you could on whatever if you were near the region. You do an excellent job from where you sit. One thing you might be able to help me with....do the maps you have of Hessville show Grand Park and Orchard Dr./Grand area where Orchard Dr. ran into (or became) Black Oak Road? I don't remember the date on the maps you acquired, but would be interested in seeing that area before the '60s.
Jim,
What was or is your line of work? Is it too late to become a sleuth? Maybe there is a novel lurking in your love of happenings from the past.
|
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4936 ) |
EastHammondBoomer |
I need to give credit where credit is due. I think I have gone on a Facebook Planet Hammond binge (I'll cool my jets, now). I wouldn't have been able to come to know about it if it hadn't been for ShepTalk. I really value the shared knowledge and fellowship found here. Thanks ShepTalk family!
Dave G |
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4937 ) |
bobrude |
Can anyone tell me how to reply to an article under the "wall" heading? |
02-08-2010
( Reply#: 4938 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by bobrude
Can anyone tell me how to reply to an article under the "wall" heading?
Bob:
I can't go to Facebook from work, since it is filtered, but I believe there is a button labeled "comment" that you click on to add your comment to the discussion.
Are you my bud who lives in So. Illinois? We have exchanged Emails and have talked about meeting in Evansville sometime.
Tom |
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4946 ) |
bobrude |
Yes Tom that is me. This spring we WILL do that. I know my eyesight
isn't what it used to be,but I don't see any "comment". All I see is
"report" and that is to object to a posting. Any more suggestions? |
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4947 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by bobrude
Yes Tom that is me. This spring we WILL do that. I know my eyesight
isn't what it used to be,but I don't see any "comment". All I see is
"report" and that is to object to a posting. Any more suggestions?
Bob:
Are you a registered member of Facebook? If not, maybe that is why you don't have the option to comment.
Once again, I am at work and cannot check things out for you on Facebook until I get home tonight. I'll be glad to try to help you out then.
Tom |
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4948 ) |
bobrude |
Thanks Tom. Being a HHS graduate in good standing I figured it out
just before you posted. Thanks again for your help. |
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4950 ) |
Jim Plummer |
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Ken,
I have no doubt you would be digging up what you could on whatever if you were near the region. You do an excellent job from where you sit. One thing you might be able to help me with....do the maps you have of Hessville show Grand Park and Orchard Dr./Grand area where Orchard Dr. ran into (or became) Black Oak Road? I don't remember the date on the maps you acquired, but would be interested in seeing that area before the '60s.
Jim,
What was or is your line of work? Is it too late to become a sleuth? Maybe there is a novel lurking in your love of happenings from the past.
|
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4951 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Ken,
I have no doubt you would be digging up what you could on whatever if you were near the region. You do an excellent job from where you sit. One thing you might be able to help me with....do the maps you have of Hessville show Grand Park and Orchard Dr./Grand area where Orchard Dr. ran into (or became) Black Oak Road? I don't remember the date on the maps you acquired, but would be interested in seeing that area before the '60s.
Jim,
What was or is your line of work? Is it too late to become a sleuth? Maybe there is a novel lurking in your love of happenings from the past.
|
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4952 ) |
S C Jones |
Jim, if you lived in Hessville between the years of 1940 and 1961, attended/graduated Morton between the years 1952 (I started Morton in last half of 6th grade) and 1958, we probably crossed paths. I graduated OPMHS in 1958--I was a carhop at Kelly's, worked at Girman and Glegg Realty on Kennedy for about a year and then worked for Graybar Electric on Indianapolis for awhile. I left da region for college and never moved back--though did come back the first summer and carhopped at the Pow-Wow at night while a church secretary by day. If you visited Kelly's the summer of 1957 or Pow-Wow the summer of 61, we may have crossed paths.
So, now you know, I am an oldster on this site....well, on any site, I guess[8)]
[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
|
02-09-2010
( Reply#: 4968 ) |
Roger D |
Dealing with the Orchard Dr./ Blackoak Rd. Question. Orchard Dr. ran from Kennedy Ave. to Cline Ave. People called it Blackoak Rd. from about Grand Ave. on because when you crossed old two lane Cline Ave you were in the Blackoak section of Gary. Offically Blavkoak Rd. has never existed.
I lived just off Orchard Dr. on New Hampshire Ave from June of '57 until February of '64.
When you drove out Orchard Dr., after passin Grand Av. you came to a six way stop where Orchard Dr., 177th St. and New Hampshire crossed. Two blocks passed this intersection either on Orchard Dr. or 177th you crossed into Blackoak. Reds' Grocery was at Cline and 80/94.
Roger D. |
02-10-2010
( Reply#: 4969 ) |
Jim Plummer |
SC, I was at Morton from 58 to 62 so you would be in my freshman yearbook. How might you be listed. Someplace in the garage I have a Pow Wow window menu with a number on the flip side. Hope I didn't steal it from you!!quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Jim, if you lived in Hessville between the years of 1940 and 1961, attended/graduated Morton between the years 1952 (I started Morton in last half of 6th grade) and 1958, we probably crossed paths. I graduated OPMHS in 1958--I was a carhop at Kelly's, worked at Girman and Glegg Realty on Kennedy for about a year and then worked for Graybar Electric on Indianapolis for awhile. I left da region for college and never moved back--though did come back the first summer and carhopped at the Pow-Wow at night while a church secretary by day. If you visited Kelly's the summer of 1957 or Pow-Wow the summer of 61, we may have crossed paths.
So, now you know, I am an oldster on this site....well, on any site, I guess[8)]
[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
|
02-10-2010
( Reply#: 4970 ) |
S C Jones |
SC, I was at Morton from 58 to 62 so you would be in my freshman yearbook. How might you be listed. Someplace in the garage I have a Pow Wow window menu with a number on the flip side. Hope I didn't steal it from you!!
|
02-11-2010
( Reply#: 4972 ) |
Jim Plummer |
SC, please repeat your response; it didn't print out
|
02-11-2010
( Reply#: 4973 ) |
S C Jones |
Jim, I sent you an email.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
SC, please repeat your response; it didn't print out
|
02-20-2010
( Reply#: 5016 ) |
seejay2 |
I just happen to be leafing thru Gary Wilson's book, Blunt Force, and he has written a chapter on the Opal Collins case named Kentucky Rifle (p.57). He is giving some pretty juicy accounts that were withheld from the general public. That character sounded like a real piece of work better off left alone.[quote]
Originally posted by S C Jones
You are welcome. If you google Opal Juanita Collins, you can get some info on her and the sentencing statistics for women in Indiana--but there seems to be little else on line. I did get an email once from one saying she was a granddaughter of Opal and wanting to know if I knew any more about Opal.... The internet age really makes this a different world we live in from the 1940--61 world of Hammond I knew.
|
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5018 ) |
S C Jones |
Thanks Seejay! Following your lead,I just read that chapter (begins on page 57) see Lake County topic reference
Blunt Force: A Reporter's Heartbeat - Google Books Result
Gary L. Wilson - 2009 - Biography & Autobiography - 110 pages
books.google.com/books?isbn=0533160340...quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
I just happen to be leafing thru Gary Wilson's book, Blunt Force, and he has written a chapter on the Opal Collins case named Kentucky Rifle (p.57). He is giving some pretty juicy accounts that were withheld from the general public. That character sounded like a real piece of work better off left alone.[quote]
Originally posted by S C Jones
You are welcome. If you google Opal Juanita Collins, you can get some info on her and the sentencing statistics for women in Indiana--but there seems to be little else on line. I did get an email once from one saying she was a granddaughter of Opal and wanting to know if I knew any more about Opal.... The internet age really makes this a different world we live in from the 1940--61 world of Hammond I knew.
|
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5019 ) |
seejay2 |
...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj |
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5020 ) |
S C Jones |
oops! |
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5021 ) |
S C Jones |
Opal was released from prison in the late 60's or early 70's---there was an article in The Tennessean at the time she was released. It was noted because she was the first woman to be sentenced to death in Indiana. I think she was in prison about 10 years. From there, I have no idea. The town she and the Collins family were from was Maysville or Mayville in Northeastern Kentucky.
There is a picture of her on the Indiana State Prison Virtual Museum site
and there is a posting online of the headlines regarding the murders and the trial:
Opal Collins—Newspaper Bibliography#8232;
Hammond Times#8232;
May27, 1956 p. A1 & A2“Bride of Paralyzed Vet Held”#8232;
May 28, 1956 . A1 & A2“You Killed 4” “File Murder Charges In Hammond Deaths.”#8232;
May 31, 1956 p. A2 “Slayer of 4 Takes Jail Life Quietly”#8232;#8232;
October 16, 1956 p. 1 & 2 (2star) “Opal Jury Selection Continues”#8232;
October 16, 1956 p. 1 & 2 (3star) “Boy, 6, May Be Witness In Opal Trial”#8232;
October 17, 1956 p. 1 (2star) “Juror Ill; Opal Trial Is Slowed”#8232;
October 17, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “Opal's Past Acts bared By Metro”#8232;
October 18, 1956 p. 1 (2star) “May Pick Opal Jury By Friday”#8232;
October 19, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “All-Male Opal Jury; Open Trial”#8232;
October 21, 1956 p. A1 & A14 “Will Opal Be 1st Woman in Indiana Chair?”#8232;
October 22, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “Opal Trial Underway”#8232;
October 23, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Opal Sobs on Witness Stand”#8232;
October 24, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Boy, 6, Tells of Shootings”#8232;
October 25, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “2 Doctors Say Opal Is Sane”#8232;
October 26, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Report Decision on Penalty Stalls Verdict”#8232;
October 28, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Death Row Cell Awaits Convicted Mrs. Collins”#8232;
October 29, 1956 p. 2 “Opal Will Stay in Hub jail for 10 More Days”#8232;#8232;
Indianapolis Star#8232;#8232;
October 27, 1956 p. 1 & 2 “Women Gets Chair”#8232;Indianapolis Times#8232;
November 23, 1956 p. 21 “Killer's Life Is in Hands of Handley”
For information about how to get copies, contact me:#8232;
Darrol Pierson#8232;Independent Researcher#8232;
135 South Hawthorne Lane#8232;
Indianapolis IN 46219
darrol_pierson9051@sbcglobal.net#8232;(317) 322-1703 (leave message)
Notice that the age of the boy was 6 not 9 as Wilson reported.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj
Grand Park Subdivision 1940-1961 Boondocks of Hessville!
[/quote]
|
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5022 ) |
seejay2 |
Where is all this stuff at? |
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5023 ) |
S C Jones |
The picture is here: www.in.gov/idoc/files/ISP_VirtualMuseum.swf
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Where is all this stuff at?
|
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5024 ) |
S C Jones |
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
The picture is here: www.in.gov/idoc/files/ISP_VirtualMuseum.swf
The listing of articles is here: freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/.../opalcollinsnewsbib.html
I just happened upon both of them when I googled: Opal Collins, Indiana mass murderer.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Where is all this stuff at?
|
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5025 ) |
seejay2 |
Man, she just looks like trouble...kinda like my ex.......Cj |
02-21-2010
( Reply#: 5026 ) |
S C Jones |
Well, we know she was trouble--it is difficult to tell, but she didn't seem to have the light blue steely eyes that Wilson described. I wouldn't question the cold, steely-eyed description, though. I saw her at the trial. Not a hair out of place and dressed to the nines to show her figure. I was there when she was on the stand, but I just remember seeing her and not any of the questions or answers.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Man, she just looks like trouble...kinda like my ex.......Cj
|
02-22-2010
( Reply#: 5036 ) |
Jim Plummer |
She looks like she didn't want to be there. Actually I had 1961 passport photos taken by the Hammond Police photographer and I looked guilty!! |
02-24-2010
( Reply#: 5046 ) |
tannadk |
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj
She moved to ohio i believe and passed away living a normal life. Thats our system for ya. The collins family were my relatives! |
02-25-2010
( Reply#: 5047 ) |
tom w |
Thanks for coming forward with that, I know it must have been very difficult. Even though I dont have a clue who she is or what happened. Guess I got spared on that one. Tom |
02-25-2010
( Reply#: 5051 ) |
S C Jones |
Here's what I found online regarding Opal's conversion--I knew I had read this sometime ago, so went searching:
A copy of the following unidentified newspaper article was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:
Rev. Adam Retains Pastorate of Local Church
The Rev. William Adam, pastor of Trinity Lutheran church, had declined the call extended him by Trinity Lutheran church, Westville, and St. Paul Lutheran church, of Otis, Ind., and will continue to serve the local Lutheran church. Pastor Adam came to Lowell in the summer of 1949, and has worked with the members of his parish in building up its membership, as well as in the construction of a new church, parish hall, and parsonage. He and his family are happy to remain in the Lowell community, to which they have become endeared through the years.
A copy of the following newspaper article, hand-identified as being from the Dec. 13, 1956, Tribune, was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:
Opal Collins Sentence Commuted to Life
Gov. George N. Craig, Monday commuted the death sentence of Opal Collins to life imprisonment.
The 26-year-old Hammond murderess was convicted and sentence to die in the electric chair February 15. She would have been the first woman in Indiana to pay the supreme penalty. Mrs. Collins shot and killed her husband, mother-in-law, and two young sisters-in-law in the Collins home, 3714 176th Ave., last May 26. It was for the murder of her youngest victim, Mary Sue Collins, 1, that she was tried and convicted.
While Mrs. Collins was confined to the Lake County jail, she had as her spiritual counselor, Rev. William Adam of Lowell. She came to realize the sacredness of human life, is repentant for her sins, and found happiness thru Christian light. When she was baptized she said, "This is the happiest day of my life." |
02-25-2010
( Reply#: 5053 ) |
Bill Bucko |
Nice going, dumb_ss politicians. Why not let all the murderers out of prison? Killing 5 people doesn't make anybody bad. All they have to do is say they've seen the light.
Disgustedly,
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
02-26-2010
( Reply#: 5056 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Well, I guess she never killed anyone else so maybe in her case they were right but, let's not turn them all loose.
Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody? |
02-27-2010
( Reply#: 5060 ) |
Bill Bucko |
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
... Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody?
No, never heard of her. I had Miss Jordan, at the brick Harding, 1954, in that huge room (on the east side facing the rear playground) that had a folding divider down the middle, a piano, big wooden construction blocks, cubbyholes for nap rugs, etc.
I believe a little info on Miss Jordan was posted a few months ago, somewhere on this Forum.
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
02-27-2010
( Reply#: 5061 ) |
wvcogs |
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody?
Jim and Bill, I just exchanged emails with a lady who began kindergarten in fall 1945 and had Miss Fowler. My wife began as a mid-term student in spring 1946 with Miss Jordan. If anyone is interested, I posted a brief history of Harding at [url]http://pages.suddenlink.net/morton1960/HardingElementary.pdf[/url].
Ken |
02-27-2010
( Reply#: 5063 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Oh no not the 'new' building!!!!How could they tear it down! Well, at least it didn't have that wooden smell the 'old' building had. OK Ken does she remember anything about Miss Fowler? |
02-27-2010
( Reply#: 5064 ) |
wvcogs |
Nope, nothing about Miss Fowler. |
03-13-2010
( Reply#: 5112 ) |
Jim Plummer |
Am I right on this? Planet Hammond seems at times to be slowing down? |
03-13-2010
( Reply#: 5116 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Am I right on this? Planet Hammond seems at times to be slowing down?
It seems to me like there has been a loss of momentum there, but, Lord have mercy, it couldn't have kept up that frantic pace indefinitely.
Tom |
03-14-2010
( Reply#: 5128 ) |
cartoonguy |
One of the problems with having too many members is that if you post a topic, within moments it is buried by hundreds of new ones, so I am sure many of them go unread. |
