The Old Mill, 1947

A reader sent me this interesting shot of Earle's mill from the Chicago Sunday Tribune of June 29, 1947 — Hobart's centennial year.


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image supplied by Cheryl Murdock.

The old place is looking a bit tired, but it must have plenty of electricity, to judge by that maze of wiring across the front. I don't know who that man on the porch is. I believe that in 1947 Herman Harms, Sr. was working at the mill, but the picture isn't clear enough to tell if by some chance that happened to be him.

The caption says that Earle's mill supplied the planks "to construct Lake st. in Chicago." The online Encyclopedia of Chicago, in an article on "Streets and Highways," says: "The first attempts by government to build hard-surfaced roads occurred in the 1840s when Chicago covered some of its streets with planks," but I haven't found any more detail than that. I suppose the planks were rafted across Lake Michigan.

Independence Day Parade, 1947

(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Eldon Harms family.

Here we have the V.F.W.'s fire truck in a parade. At the wheel is Eldon Harms. No one else is identified.

While the date of the photo above was not recorded, I think it looks enough like this one, taken in Hobart in 1947, that we can safely say they were both taken at the same place on the same occasion — most likely the parade on July 4, 1947, during Hobart's big centennial celebration.

Eldon himself once told me that the fire truck had belonged to the fire department of Camp 133 before the Hobart V.F.W. bought it.

Rossow's Coffee Shop

Here's another matchbook cover.



(Click on images to enlarge)

I do not know when Rossow's Coffee Shop opened, nor how long it operated — not long, perhaps, since it eluded the memories collected in 1979.

The shop was owned by Annie Rossow, and staffed by two of her daughters, Lillian and Grace, as evidenced by this entry in the 1940-41 City Directory:



So they were living in Hobart, but I cannot find them anywhere in the 1940 census. By that time Anna was a widow; her husband, Theodore, had died in 1936.

The coffee shop was located in a narrow building that stood where the north part of Kellen's flower shop is now. Eldon Harms tells me the building was so narrow that you could just about stretch your arms out to the side and touch its two interior walls at the same time. (The 1922 Sanborn map isn't clear on that dimension.)

In cold weather, Eldon used to stop in there after working a shift at NIPSCO, to warm up with some of their hot vegetable soup. The Rossows also made their own pies fresh every day. One row of small tables stood along an interior wall, with room to walk along the other interior wall. At the back was a small counter, perpendicular to the interior walls, with a few stools in front of it. You could eat there, or at one of the tables.

That narrow building can be seen in a few of the photos linked in the 342 Main Street entry of the Downtown Hobart 1979 blog:


(Click on images to enlarge)
The image above and the two below are courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.





The middle photo, taken during the Hobart Centennial celebration, is interesting because it shows an "EAT" sign hanging out over the narrow building. And then there is this photo, which I have scanned from the April/May 2011 edition of the Generations magazine, where it is credited to "the Niksch family":



Per Eldon Harms, those two ladies are (left to right) Grace and Lillian Rossow. Lillian appears to be dressed for a centennial celebration, doesn't she? On the other hand, I can't find a listing for Rossow's Coffee Shop (or for any Rossow) in the 1947 telephone directory. Maybe the town had some sort of old-timey-days festival at another time.

The former Rossow's Coffee Shop, along with its neighbor to the south, was demolished to make way for the flower shop — built in 1969, per the Lake County records.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Duck

(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of Eldon Harms.

Handwritten on the back of the original:

Mayme Fleck and Mrs. Ed. Fleck
Centennial Parade
July, 1947.

We've previously met Mayme (Brand) Fleck. For the Hobart Centennial parade, she dressed up as a clown and had a duck walking with her. The poor duck got so tired that she had to carry it. She was pretty tired herself, as those big feet were hard to walk in — so her daughter tells me.

Mrs. Ed Fleck had been Auvergne Thomas when she married Edmund Fleck in Starke County in 1917 (Indiana Marriage Collection). They lived in Hobart from the 1920 Census onward.

This photo was taken on Third Street, west of the bridge. In the background you can see the sign of the Tower Mobilgas filling station.

Hobart Centennial Program

The Hobart Centennial celebration took place from July 3 through July 6, 1947. The program printed up for the occasion outlined the schedule and listed the people who participated, organizing and funding it, and performing in the festivities.

The program also listed Hobart men who served in wars from the Mexican War through World War II, and those who lost their lives.

Centennial Program July 1947

Courtesy of Eldon Harms.

The Water Tower from the Ground

The water-tower views reminded me that I have a photo of the water tower taken from the ground. Or near the ground.


(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of E. Harms.

The year was 1947, and even NIPSCO* had caught centennial fever: here we see Eldon Harms, an employee, painting the window frames of the NIPSCO building to make it look nice for the big celebration in July. In the background is the water tower, and you can see a catwalk around it, which was probably where yesterday's water-tower views were shot from.

The water tower is gone now. So is the building Eldon was painting. Only the brick building between them still stands at the east end of Jerry Pavese Park.


Another view of the NIPSCO building and the same employee up the ladder:



_________________________
*I use the name "NIPSCO" loosely. This utility operation may or may not have gone by that name in 1947; eventually it did.

Centennial, West Third Street

From the steamer trunk.


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of E.H.

This is a scene from Hobart's Centennial celebration in July 1947. We are on Third Street, west of Main. In the background toward the upper right corner you can see where Third and Main intersect.

The distinguished gentleman in the light waistcoat and dark top-hat is Herman Harms.

Two Chester Sisters at the Centennial

Two more photos from Chester-Raschka descendant Bruce McLain!

The first shows (l to r) Lovisa (Chester) Nelson, Carrie (Chester) Raschka and Lilly Davis in costume for the 1947 Hobart Centennial celebration.



Don't you wonder how much of their clothing is really antique? I know that many people sewed "old-fashioned" costumes for the occasion, but I can image Lovisa and Carrie's mother wearing those black mitts on Lovisa's hands.

I do not know who Lilly Davis was. (Anyone who does is invited to leave a comment.)


Next, we have a summery Christmas greeting card, showing Mabel Brown and her husband, the Rev. Charles A. Brown, pastor of the Methodist church.


(Click on image to enlarge)

The card is undated. The 1920 Census shows the Browns in Lowell; the 1930 Census has them in Hobart (he 64 years old, she 45); and the 1940 Census has them in Chesterton, with the Reverend "retired." Beyond that, I don't know; and, of course, the card could have been sent from anywhere.

Cap'n Jim's Hobart Memories

Through the miracle of the internet, someone I've never met has volunteered some Hobart memories, thus sparing me, for once, the crushing burden of writing an original post. So today we will hear from Cap'n Jim:

What I will recount below might be of no use in any documentation. But, it might be of some personal interest. If old timers like me don't preserve this stuff who will?

I will recall some unrelated things generally about "The J." I was born and raised within a stone's throw of the railroad.

The property now used by the lumber company on the South side of the old right of way contained no development until the mid nineteen thirties. Then the Blue Ribbon Dairy was built there. When that business was demolished I don't know. It was succeeded by a grocery store whose building still exists.

On the North side of the tracks just west of Main St., about at the end of the lumber company building was a water tank for the locomotives. (As an aside, there was a similar tank on the Nickel Plate just west of Main St. on the North side of the tracks.) From time to time Pennsy engines would use the EJ&E tank.

Moving along a little way, there was a stock loading pen and chute at Lake St. It was on the South side abutting the street and the RR track. Never saw it used. On the other hand, I never saw the hitching post in front of the high school used either

The Main Street and Lake Street crossings were guarded by watchmen. I'm quite sure the Main St. crossing was manned all night. I'm not sure about Lake. (Another aside. The Main St. Nickel Plate crossing was also guarded by a watchman. His name was Tony and he had a badly injured leg on which he wore a heavy brace. Of course, all the school kids knew him and greeted him daily.) All of the crossings had small guard houses with small coal stoves. And no lights!

There were some instances where EJ&E trains stopped for lengthy periods blocking both Main and Lake. This was a potentially dangerous situation because there was only one fire station. It was downtown.

♦    ♦    ♦
My former residences [on Main Street and Water Street] haven't changed all that much. What has changed is the corner at Eighth and Water where there was formerly a very awkward grade level crossing. And, the Main St. crossing which has been leveled out.

In 1945 or 46, five veterans just returned from service took that crossing at a high rate of speed and collided head-on with a Gary Railways bus. All five of them were killed. A short time later five others struck an EJ&E train stopped at the Cleveland Ave-Rte 130 crossing. Again all five were killed. Not happy news.

Other memories. In 1936 the WPA worked on what became Brickie Bowl. An endless succession of trucks carried fill down the hill to create the area that became the field. There was a rude bridge across Duck Creek where additional work was in progress. We were told it was to be tennis courts. (And yes, I am that old!)

♦    ♦    ♦
[1947] was the year of the centennial and the year Hobart Lumber burned. I was ushering at the theater and we were wearing Indian costumes to celebrate the observance. I ran from the theater to the fire in costume.

Thank you, Cap'n Jim. That's the first I've ever heard of a stock loading pen on Lake Street.

Hobart Then and Now: The Hub/Hobart Karate

Circa 1900 and 2011.



(Click on image to enlarge)
Top image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

All descriptions I've found of The Hub say it was on the south side of Third Street, at the alley between Main and Center. They never say which side of the alley, but that does look as if it could be the same building. It still has the three windows above, whose lower sills you can just glimpse in the old photo. The main floor underwent some remodeling, perhaps.

The older image is undated, so I just took a guess. A fragmentary caption tells us that these guys are, from right to left, William Jahnke and an unknown Ewigleben. (So if I could find out during what year(s) William Jahnke served in some law enforcement capacity … or what year the Foresters held a masquerade on February 21…)

I don't know when The Hub was founded. It was in business by 1904, when Marshal Rose accosted some motorists outside the Hub.

This photo is dated 1906, with another cryptic caption:


(Click on image to enlarge)
Images courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.



Per the 1900 Census, Christ Ewigleben of Hobart had a daughter named Lena. John Hillman gave his occupation as saloonkeeper. I can't track down in any census any Hobart bartender named Oris.

And finally, the saloon interior:


(Click on image to enlarge)
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.

No date, but from the calendars on the back wall, I'm guessing it's 1913 (because the year on the calendar at the right looks vaguely like 1913, and January 13 did fall on a Monday in that year).

It looks rather elegant — but then you notice all those spittoons …

♦    ♦    ♦
[4/13/2011 update: I was wondering about Mr. Jahnke above — a reader has sent in some pertinent information and photos. Thanks, Swooz!]

I was taking a break from working on my family tree and had a box of Hobart history articles and booklets handy, so I thought I would see if I could find something about Mr. Jahnke. Hit paydirt in a copy of the Souvenir Program and History for the Centennial celebration in 1947. Seems he was a fireman. And darned if it doesn't look like the top picture was taken in front of The Hub! Wonder if the fire department itself was around the corner — thirsty work! Also in a "Souvenir Edition, Special Illustrated Supplement to the Hobart Gazette" May of 1898 I found a little bio of sorts on Mr. W.C. Jahnke — "Mr Jahnke has resided in Hobart for seven years and at present is local agent for the Standard Oil Company, whose interests he represents in a manner likely to give entire satisfaction to that great company and its many patrons here. Besides his oil trade Mr. Jahnke is an extensive dealer in all grades of coal. He carries on a general teaming business as well, and is considered by all a rising, substantial and reliable business man and citizen". Busy guy! He was still around in 1914 in a picture of the F.D. banquet I just noticed. I skimmed over some other pages but did not find the name Ewigleben, if I come across any information I will pass it on. I know that family has been in this area a long time also.

[That top photo looks familiar — I think I may have seen the original somewhere at the Hobart Historical Society Museum. I will check for both next Saturday and get full-size scans if I can.]