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Between 800 and 1,000 Potawatomi Indians, from homes in Fulton and Marshall counties in Indiana, on a forced march under armed guard enroute to reservation in eastern Kansas, per an 1837 treaty, passed a few miles west of Lafayette. [BACKGROUND: Sandford Cox detailed this on pp. 155-156 of his book Old Settlers..] About 40 of the Native Americans died during the 660-mile, 10-week trek, described as the "trail of tears" or "trail of death."
Lafayette's four largest Protestant churches (First and Second Presbyterian, Trinity Methodist and First Baptist) conducted union worship services on Sundays.
A Wabash & Erie Canal report showed that Lafayette farmers and dealers shipped significant amounts of corn, pork, bacon, lard and hemp.
The county's new Agricultural Society resumed the tradition of an annual fall fair, this time on grounds northeast of Sixth and Cincinnati streets.
The Tippecanoe County Agricultural Society conducted its annual fair on land east of the present site of St. Elizabeth Hospital.
The Agricultural Society's annual "county fair" took place on grounds near Ninth and Kossuth streets. Subsequent fairs are believed to have occupied grounds near Fourteenth and Howell streets several years.
Dr. A.M. Moore advertised painless tooth extractions using electrical current from a battery.
The City Council voted to sell $10,000 worth of bonds, or "shinplasters," to buy a steam-powered fire engine. The City engaged James Vauclain, superintendent of the L&I Railroad shops, to visit Baltimore and Philadelphia and look over various makes of engines.
The City finished grading Union Street from the Wabash & Erie Canal east to Adams Earl's elegant "suburban" home. Some property owners along the route objected to the improvements, while others now called it "the handsomest avenue in the city."
A coroner's jury, with William R. Ellis foreman, investigated the L&I Railroad tragedy. In several days of testimony it sorted out salient facts. L&I rules gave right-of-way to the Express unless it became 35 or more minutes late. The Express conductor said because it was only 27-28 minutes late the cattle train engineer, George Lamb, should have stayed at a three-mile switch, as instructed, and could have seen the Express four miles away. Instead Lamb left the switch after 20 minutes, telling his fireman "we can make Culver's." When he heard a whistle ahead Lamb thought it was from a southbound train ahead of him. Lamb, who worked in the L&I machine shop, sometimes ran "extra" trains. He and fireman John McClory jumped from their locomotive, the "Clinton," seconds before impact. Subsequent testimony questioned Lamb's competency. He had been involved in a property damage accident on the L&I near Culver's Station the year before. In time the jury blamed Lamb for "want of capacity and reprehensible carelessness and disobedience of rules and regulations and the timetable." The jury held the L&I "highly censurable" for employing him as an engineer. Crews cleared wreckage and reopened tracks within two days. Seventeen victims, unidentified or unclaimed, were buried in Greenbush Cemetery. Ten others were laid to rest in St. Mary Cemetery.
President Lincoln, running as a Union candidate, defeated Democrat George B. McClellan, Philadelphia-born soldier and Civil War figure, 212 electoral votes to 21. Tippecanoe County backe Lincoln 3,489 to 2,775.
A newspaper letter supporting higher pay for teachers described a five-year inflationary period during which butter rose from 12 to 35 cents a pound, beef from 9 to 18 cents.
In Chauncey's town reorganization, Jacob Ewry, Bill Gates and J.H. Marstellar took office as trusteees. They designated Gates' wagon shop as the town hall.
Republican James A. Garfield, Ohio educator, soldier and congressman, beat Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock, Pennsylvania soldier, 4,449,053 to 4,442,035 for U.S. President. A Greenback Party candidate, James B. Weaver, Iowa lawyer, soldier and congressman, drew 308,578 votes. Tippecanoe County gave Garfield 5,061 votes, Hancock 3,820, Weaver 136. Republicans swept the contested elections for county offices.
A monthly newspaper devoted to Purdue University news, edited by J.M. Waugh and printed in a Lafayette job shop, debuted as The Purdue. It existed until about June, 1888.
The Allen Knitting Company announced that it would move factory operations from Michigan City to the empty Lafayette Agricultural Works building on South Third Street, and employ 300 to 400 people.
Paper and box manufacturer George E. Jenks founded The Shears, a monthly trade newspaper. He published it until about 1916, when the Haywood Co. bought it and, with editor Milton Pottlitzer, ran it until 1928.
Columbian School opened in Highland Park.
The federal census for 1900: Tippecanoe County: 38,659 (Lafayette 18,116; West Lafayette, 1,202). Mayor Justice protested that a special police census had given Lafayette 21,518, and true total must be nearer 25,000.
A corporation formed to sell $250,000 in stock and build an interurban railrway line from Lafayette to Indianapolis.
As diphtheria and smallpox cases occurred, doctors met, and city and county officials considered establishing a contagious diseases hospital.
Evaleen Stein dedicated her second poetry collection, Among the Trees Again, to her brother who had died in 1901. The book, from Bowen-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, contained 50 poems. Her first book, One Way to the Woods, had come out in 1897.
The Lafayette Sycamores rollerskate polo team opened its season with out-of-town losses at Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, and Danville. Coliseum construction work delayed the team's first home game.
Republicans won all local election contests.
There was no rollerskate polo team or league this year. But other entertainment prospered: There was a city bowling league with six teams competing. The Family Theater offered vaudeville acts only, but motion pictures could be seen at a nickel-admission theater at 632 Main Street, and at a penny arcade near Sixth and Main streets.
About 100 business and professional people began organizing a Lafayette Country Club.
Lafayette's public school board decided that a new and larger high school was needed, and began looking into costs and potential sites.
Lafayette and West Lafayette high school football teams played to a 0-0 tie. Lafayette had not fielded a team in 1908.
The Purdue State Bank obtained an operating charter and opened in rented space in the West Lafayette "village" business district.
Haywood Publishing Company formed. It was a continuation of a printing service started in 1834 by William Spring.
Albert Ross defeated Mayor George Durgan 7,017 to 5,974 in a Republican sweep of Lafayette elections. Politics in schools, parks, parking, street maintenance, waterworks flood protection were issues.
Construction began on a controversial addition to Jefferson High School consisting of a gymnasium and auditorium. The school board, mayor, City Council and state authorities argued over various aspects of the project, including closing Elizabeth Street from Ninth to 10th streets. A court ruling in June, 1928, approved vacating the street and connecting the old and new buildings.
Democrat John Hudson with 5,673 votes defeated Republican Ralph Brassie, 3,932, for Lafayette mayor. Schoolteacher Mary C. Kennedy was the first woman to win an elective city position, an at-large seat on the City Council.
Construction began for an Egyptian Lacquer Company plant that would employ 50 making paint, lacquer and other industrial coatings, on 20 acres east of U.S. 52 Bypass.
There had been Watergate in 1972; then President Nixon's resignation in disgrace in the summer of 1974. Vice President Gerald Ford served out the term. When Ford ran for election he was beaten by former Georgia governor and businessman Jimmy Carter. Democrat Carter received 40,830,763 votes to Ford's 39,147,973 and won the electoral vote 297-240. Independent Eugene McCarthy, Minnesota senator, drew 756,631 votes. Tippecanoe County remained loyal to Republicans, giving Ford 29,186 votes to Carter's 17,850.
Lafayette Mayor James F. Riehle, a Democrat, won election to his third straight term in a 6,617 to 5,885 vote election victory over Republican Marjorie Griffith, former city clerk. In West Lafayette, Democrat Sonya Margerum, defeated Republican Katie Hunter 3,172 to 2,597 for mayor. Democrats won control of the Lafayette City Council six seats to three; but Republicans held the majority in W.L.'s seven-member Council. Margerum became the first woman (and second Democrat) mayor in the city.
Tippecanoe County voters cast 27,589 votes for Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and 14,636 for Democrat President Jimmy Carter, contributing to Reagan's landslide national victory. Tippecanoe backed Republican Dan Quayle for U.S. Senate with 27,975 votes to 19,939 for 18-year veteran Sen. Birch E. Bayh, contributing to Quayle's upset win in Indiana. The county backed Republican Bob Orr over Democrat John Hillenbrand for governor 30,347 to 16,817. State Rep. Bill Long, R-Lafayette, won re-election over Democrat Leroy Smith 13,925 to 7,429. State Rep. Stan Jones, D-West Lafayette, gained re-election over Republican James Garland 12,788 to 9,875. Sue Reser, West Lafayette Republican, launched a long political career with a 29,623 to 15,990 vote victory over former Republican W.L. Mayor Joe Dienhart, running as a Democrat, in a contest for Tippecanoe County Commissioner from District 2.
Despite nationwide economic problems of inflation, unemployment and high interest rates, Tippecanoe County reported 60,800 people working. Tippecanoe experienced a 3.3 percent unemployment rate compared to a state average of 10.8 percent, and a U.S. jobless rate of 7.9 percent.
High school football teams from both Lafayette Jefferson and McCutcheon completed undefeated seasons, winning 10 games each, but both lost in the state playoffs. Fort Wayne Snider ended Jeff's season in Class AAA with a 27-14 win. Defending Class AA champion Franklin Central topped McCutcheon 40-13.
In cooperation with a local effort to free Jewish residents wishing to leave their homes in the Soviet Union, Raymond J. Gallagher, retired bishop of the Lafayette Catholic Diocese, joined others in delivering a petition to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. He was the only member of the delegation permitted inside the embassy.
Purdue University fired head football coach Fred Akers, citing academic and legal problems among players, declining home-game attendance and a 2-9 won-lost record for '90. On Dec. 6 the university hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Colletto.
Debate about Prophetstown State Park, proposed in 1989 as a 1,900-acre facility, heated up anew when planners revealed intentions to shift the boundaries and enlarge the park. At first planned for an area bounded by Burnett's Creek, North Ninth Street Road, Indiana 225 and the Wabash River, it met with opposition from residents. They objected because of loss of private property, said that the park would be bisected by Interstate 65 and the CSX Railroad tracks, said that much of the site was in Wabash River flood plain, lacked scenic beauty, and took good farmland out of production. So planners proposed to eliminate that part of the site west of I-65 and add acreage east of Indiana 225 northward to the Tippecanoe River.
Meijer, Inc., a Michigan-based retail chain, announced plans to build east of Lafayette on Indiana 26, and employ up to 700 people. The company optioned to buy 37 acres for a 200,000-square-foot store.
A Tippecanoe Superior Court jury found John T. Hunter, 55, guilty of 13 charges, including attempted murder, and his 28-year-old son guilty of receiving stolen property. Later Judge Don Johnson sentenced Hunter to 80 years in prison, and the son to three years. Local police arrested the Hunters after a high-speed car chase on April 22 on Indiana 26 east during which Hunter fired shots at pursuers. After hiding, he shot Lafayette Patrolman John Wells in the leg. The Hunters were suspected of robbing 35 Midwest banks since 1985.
Purdue University's football season ended with senior fullback Mike Alstott leaving with 10 major records. These included career rushing (3,635 yards); single season rushing (1,436), and touchdowns (42). He also was the only player in 108 years to win the team Most Valuable Player trophy three times.
Purdue University's football team finished its best season in nearly 20 years, winning eight games and losing three, and accepting a post-season bid to play Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. On Dec. 30, Purdue's defeated Oklahoma State 32-20 and finished the season with a 9-3 won-lost record.
William Tenary and Rebecca Franklin obtained the county's first marriage license. Justice of Peace Levi Thornton married them on Nov. 2.
The Tippecanoe American debuted.
Marks and Miller, lessees of Moses Fowler's High Gap Farm, developed a new cultivar of grapes for commercial sales. From less than four acres they sent to a Chicago fruit dealer 17,000 pounds for 7.5c per pound.
Centennial School opened at Sixth and Brown streets.
Amos Heavilon, a Clinton County farmer, gave Purdue University land and notes worth $35,000 - the largest gift since John Purdue's - to enlarge mechanical engineering department shops, labs and classroom space.
The second rollerskate polo season began with the Lafayette Sycamores winning 4-2 at Terre Haute.
Lafayette police Capt. Charles A. Arman was shot and killed while investigating an armed robbery in the Tippecanoe Loan & Trust bank at the southeast corner of Fourth and Main streets. Six bandits escaped with about $1,000. One shouted "we know you, Arman, and now we're gonna get you!" Three shots were fired. [In 1929, local police officers founded Arman Lodge 49, Fraternal Order of Police.]
The Fourth Avenue Amusement Company of Louisville, Ky., took over management of the Luna, Mars and Family theaters.
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that Purdue University had the power to condemn land for dormitory or military projects. The matter arose from an attempt to obtain property northwest of the campus for a dormitory.
Aca Y Alla roller skating rink opened on Indiana 38 east near Maple Point Road.
Temperance, woman suffrage and female rights activist Helen Gougar, wife of attorney John Gougar, began publishing "Bric-a-Brac," a weekly column of social commentary and reportage in the Courier. [By the time she quit writing "Bric-a-Brac" in September, 1880, the Courier had published about 100 of her columns.]
Republican victories in state and local elections contributed to the defeat of Democrat attorney John Coffroth, Lafayette, a candidate for the Indiana Supreme Court.
Lafayette's polo coliseum housed a Republican rally honoring U.S. Sen. Charles Fairbanks, of Indiana, then running for U.S. vice president. Three nights later Frank Hanly ended his campaign for governor there, and Daniel Storms spoke seeking re-election as Indiana Secretary of State at a parade and coliseum rally.
Vice President Charles Fairbanks, former Indiana U.S. senator, campaigned for state and district Republicans in the polo coliseum.
Mayor George R. Durgan won his third term, defeating Republican Henry Overesch 3,375 to 2,183.
Republicans swept the county elections, and Cora Davis won re-election as auditor, Harry G. Leslie as joint state representative from Tippecanoe and Warren counties.
Harry S. Truman, elevated to the U.S. presidency in 1945 after Franklin D. Roosevelt died, won election to the office. The former senator and businessman from Missouri defeated Dewey 24,179,345 to 21,991,291, and by 303-189 in electoral votes. Two minor candidates hurt Dewey: Progressive Henry A. Wallace, agriculturist, editor, cabinet member and former Vice President, received 1,157,326 votes, and States Rights advocate J. Strom Thurmond from California received 1,176,125. Tippecanoe County cast 17,034 votes for Dewey, 10,825 for Truman. Republicans routinely swept other contested county elections by 3-2 ratios.
Republicans won their customary easy victories in local election contests; attorney Paul D. Ewan won unopposed for Circuit Court judge.
Democrat James F. Riehle defeated Republican O.U. Sullivan for mayor in Lafayette. In West Lafayette, Republican Joe Dienhart won the mayor race. Paul Million became the first Democrat on the W.L. City Council.
The home of Superior Court Judge Robert F. Munro was fired upon with a rifle, an act believed linked to the ongoing corruption investigation. Judge Munro had helped choose George L. Hanna as the special prosecutor.
State Sen. Mike Gery, D-West Lafayette, won re-election by defeating Republican Tom Eggleston 18,797 votes to 13,394 in the fall elections. Rep. Stan Jones, D-West Lafayette, gained re-election defeating David Diner 12,666 to 8,052; and Democrat Sheila Klinker, in a stunning upset, defeated veteran Rep. Bill Long, R-Lafayette, 9,661 to 8,760. U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar defeated Congressman Floyd Fithian by nearly 150,000. Tippecanoe County supported U.S. Rep. Myers 20,320 to 16,228 for Democrat Steve Bonney; and Lugar, 20,084, to 26,775 for Fithian, a Buck Creek area farmer and former Purdue University history professor.
The county commissioners conducted a hearing about licensing a public ferry across the Wabash River at the Main Street landing.
Lafayette newspapering peaked with introduction of the Star, the 18th in business at the time. Among others were the Comet, daily and weekly Journal, daily and weekly Courier, daily and weekly Call, Home Journal, Sunday Leader, Sunday Times, German-American, Purdue Monthly, and perhaps also the Bulletin, the Saturday Noon, the Public School, and Dispatch.
House painter George Bennett stood accused of murdering John Werkhoff and William Scott near Fifth and Ferry streets. The shooting episode stemmed from Bennett's suspicion that Werkhoff and Scott had cut his paint brushes and referred to him as a "scab" during a labor dispute.
Republican William McKinley, Ohio-born soldier, lawyer, congressman and governor, won the U.S. Presidency from young Democrat orator William Jennings Bryan, 7,035,638 to 6,467,948. Bryan, an Illinois native lawyer, lecturer and congressman from Nebraska who electrified his nominating convention with the now-famous "Cross of Gold" speech on monetary policy, lost the electoral vote 271-176. Tippecanoe County stuck with its Republican tradition, casting 6,209 votes for McKinley, 4,593 for Bryan. William S. Haggard, Lafayette, won election as lieutenant governor. Lafayette voters, meanwhile, defeated the proposed annexation of West Lafayette 3,059 to 1,828.
Voting machines were used for the first time in county elections. Republicans swept local races in a turnout of more than 11,000. William Howard Taft, Ohio lawyer, judge, territorial governor and cabinet member, defeated Bryan for President 7,679,906 to 6,409,106 and 321-162 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe gave Taft 6,164 to Bryan's 4,959.
Republicans regained dominance of Tippecanoe County government elections, winning all contests and helping elect Will R. Wood to the U.S. House. Former State Rep. Alva O. Reser won election to the Indiana Senate, and Harry G. Leslie was re-elected county treasurer.
Alf Landon, Pennsylvania-born businessman and governor of Kansas, lost to President Roosevelt 27,751,597 to 16,679,583 and 523-8 in electoral votes. But Tippecanoe County returned to its Republican tradition, giving Landon 13,081 votes to Roosevelt's 12,732. In county races, Republican wins were nearly as decisive as before the 1932 Roosevelt landslide. A record 26,813 people voted.
Republicans swept the county election contests as usual. In Lafayette A.R. "Doc" Killian defeated former mayor John B. Hudson, a Democrat, in the mayor race 5,514 to 5,079. In West Lafayette, Republican nominee Charles R. Burnham won election as mayor without opposition.
Lafayette Life Insurance Company announced plans to build a home office at 18th Street and Earl Avenue [later renamed Teal Road] on 20 acres once part of Shambaugh Airport.
Democrat William K. Gettings defeated Republican Elton V. "Red" McQueen 8,487 to 6,724 and, at age 32, took office as Lafayette mayor in January, 1960. In West Lafayette, Mayor Fred L. Willis won re-election.
Democrats scored victories in Tippecanoe County elections for the first time since the Roosevelt landslide of 1932. Led by Lyndon B. Johnson for president and Roger D. Branigin for governor, Democrats also won county offices of treasurer, surveyor and county commissioner. Branigin defeated Republican Richard O. Ristine, of Crawfordsville, by about 263,000 votes statewide. [Supporters honored Branigin at a testimonial dinner at Central Catholic High School on Dec. 7, and he took the oath of office in ceremonies at Indianapolis on Jan. 11, 1965.] The nation backed Johnson 43,129,484 to 27, 178,188 over Arizona Senator Barry M. Goldwater, with 486 electoral votes to 52. Tippecanoe County cast 20,257 votes for Johnson, 19,036 for Goldwater.
Republicans carried most Tippecanoe County races. But the county gave a plurality to Democrat Philip Sprague of Michigan City, who lost the 2nd District congressional race to incumbent Rep. Earl Landgrebe.
Mayors James F. Riehle and Sonya L. Margerum won re-election in Lafayette and West Lafayette, respectively, and met on Main Street Bridge for congratulatory handshake and promise to work for community growth for another four years. Riehle topped Republican Kenneth W. Ohl with 6,648 votes to 3,770. Margerum topped Republican Pat Carr 3,043 to 1,552. Lafayette victories by Phil Kelley, Ron Campbell, Johanna Downie, Ron Corbett, Barry Richard, and Jerry Ledbetter gave Democrats a 6-3 majority in the City Council. Democrats Linda Young, Dean Rothenberger, Larry Nelson, Joe Krause and Carmen Fabian gained victories for a 5-2 majority in the W.L. City Council.
Tippecanoe County voters gave the losing Republican ticket of President George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle 23,050 votes, and 17,343 to the victorious team of Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore. The independent candidacy of Texas oil billionaire Ross Perot attracted 9,684 county voters. The county helped re-elect Republican Dan Coats to the U.S. Senate with 29,129 votes to 17,867 to Democrat Joe Hogsett. Local voters showed a strong preference for Democrat Gov. Evan Bayh, helping re-elect him with 29,840 votes to 18,742 for Republican Linley Pearson. And they helped 7th District Congressman John T. Myers return to Washington by giving him 28,002 votes to 20,756 for West Lafayette Democrat Ellen Wedum. State Sen. Katie L. Wolf, D-Monticello, defeated Tippecanoe farmer Alan R. Kemper although Kemper carried the county 6,265 to 5,236. State Rep. Sue Scholer, R-West Lafayette, topped Democrat Sharon Wood 10,061 to 7,075 in the county; Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, defeated Republican challenger Linda Phillips 13,385 to 9,569.
Tippecanoe Mall completed a $20 million expansion project with 23 additional stores.
In an "off year" election swept by Republican candidates for county and township offices, Republican Ron Alting defeated former Mayor James F. Riehle for election to the Indiana Senate. Alting will replace Democrat Mike Gery, of West Lafayette, who decided against running after serving six four-year terms. State Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, and Rep. Sue Scholer, R-West Lafayette, won re-election.
Democrat James K. Polk, North Carolina lawyer, congressman and Tennessee governor, defeated Whig Henry Clay of Virginia, a lawyer, statesman and congressman, 170-105 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe County cast 1,551 votes for Polk, 1,550 for Clay, 37 for a Liberty Party candidate, James G. Birney.
Sandford C. Cox, attorney, county recorder, poet, newspaperman and author of the invaluable "Old Settlers" historical articles converted into a much reprinted and oft-quoted book, died.
Republicans swept contested Tippecanoe County elections run under a number of new laws, including the use of voting booths, and the division of the county and cities into precincts or wards.
Republicans won county election races. Ed Crumpacker won re-election to Congress. Henry Marshall won re-election to the Indiana House, and Daniel Storms, from the Romney area, was elected Indiana secretary of state. Ele Stansbury won the Tippecanoe-Warren County joint seat in the Indiana House. State Sen. Will R. Wood won again.
Bauer defeated Durgan for mayor 2,891 to 2,875. A third candidate received 77. The city clerk race ended in a tie, and recounts ensued.
The county's worst automobile accident took six lives when a car and an electric interurban railroad car collided near Main Street and Concord Road. All victims but one were from Frankfort. Five died at the scene, the sixth two days later; all were buried Nov. 7 in Granville Cemetery. Four-year-old twins survived.
Republican Calvin Coolidge, Vermont lawyer, mayor, governor and legislator, defeated Democrat John William Davis, West Virginia lawyer, congressman and ambassador, 15,725,016 to 8,385,586 for U.S. President, winning 382-136 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe County backed Coolidge 12,161 to 7,619, and elected Republicans in all contested local elections. Harry G. Leslie was re-elected to the state legislature.
John Phillip Sousa's famous military-music band played two shows in the Purdue Armory.
Republicans swept Tippecanoe County elections, but by noticeably smaller margins. Nationally, Democrat and anti-prohibition or "wet" candidates won many victories.
For the second time in 1936, a Lafayette house fire claimed two lives. Ursula Wiebers, 70, and Nathan Morris, 55, the latter a crippled street vendor of pencils, had died in a fire at 911 Potomac Ave. [On Jan. 9, fire at 329 South 16th St., killed a couple in their 70s: Mr. and Mrs. Ed Vick.]
Democrat Albert J. Krabbe was elected mayor of Lafayette in a Democratic Party sweep. He defeated Republican George DeVault 5,631 to 4,324. In West Lafayette, Mayor Burnham beat Democrat Curtis Hostetter in a Republican sweep.
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Army general and World War II hero, defeated Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson, senator and former Illinois governor, 33,936,234 to 27,314,992, and 442-89 in electoral votes, ending 20 years of Democrat presidents. Tippecanoe County backed Eisenhower 23,447 to 9,678. Republicans scored 2-1 ratio victories in county contests amid a record 80% voter turnout of 33,246.
Republicans swept county election contests. Among the winners: attorney Robert F. Munro running for judge of Superior Court.
Three Lafayette people died in an airplane crash at Greenbrier Mountain, W.Va.: Eleanor Price, 44, and pilots Benton N. Munro, 45, and Charles Compliment, 31. Surviving with injuries were National Homes Corporation president James R. Price and Allen C. Dibble, National Homes' director of public relations and advertising.
Mayors Riehle and Dienhart won re-election in Lafayette and West Lafayette. Lafayette City Court Judge Lewis T. Wireman, a Democrat, object of ethics complaint, lost to Republican Raymond Gollmitzer.
Tippecanoe County voters helped re-elect U.S. Sen Dan Quayle and Congressman John T. Myers, both Republicans, but backed numerous Democrats in other election races. The county gave Sen. Quayle 18,735 votes to 8,864 for Democrat Jill Long; 18,442 votes for Myers to 8,183 for Democrat L. Eugene Smith and 1,200 for Libertarian Barbara Bourland. Democrat Evan Bayh carried Tippecanoe 14,349 to 12,936 over Robert Otis Bowen for Indiana Secretary of State. County voters re-elected State Rep. Stan Jones, D-West Lafayette, 5,387 to 4,244 over Republican Les Meade, and State Sen. Mike Gery, D-West Lafayette, over Libertarian Roger H. Strater 17,108 to 1,360. Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, received nearly 10,000 votes in her uncontested bid for re-election.
Allison Bock, Jefferson High School athlete, won three state championships, raising her four-year total to 10, and breaking the previous state record of eight in girls' swimming competition.
Lafayette City Council members cast an emotion-packed vote that preserved that part of the Human Relations Ordinance that discourages discrimination based on sexual orientation. The amendment was added to the ordinance, amid controversy, in 1993 to protect gays and lesbians, but some Council members considered it unnecessary. Their repeal attempt re-ignited a contentious debate that included Christian conservatives, gay rights and civil rights activists and clergy. Councilmen Ron Alting and Dennis Probasco, early backers of repeal, switched to tip the balance and head off a lawsuit threatened by Citizens for Civil Rights.
Samuel Ewry died in a sawmill accident near West Point. A chain broke, crushing Ewry under a three-foot-diameter log.
President Grant won re-election, defeating Democrat Horace Greeley, New York journalist, 3,597,132 to 2,834,125. Tippecanoe County voters backed Grant, 4,168 to 3,110.
Two ornamental cannon, given by Post 3, Grand Army of the Republic, were dedicated on the Tippecanoe County Courthouse lawn: A Parrott gun on the southeast side, a Howitzer at the northwest corner.
In a tradition-breaking victory for Democrats, Woodrow Wilson, Virginia-born lawyer, professor and university president, faced Republican Taft and Republican-turned-Progressive Theodore Roosevelt in the race for U.S. President. Indiana Gov. Thomas Riley Marshall, Columbia City lawyer, ran for vice president on Wilson's ticket. Nationally Wilson-Marshall won with 6,286,214 votes to 4,126,020 for Roosevelt and 3,483,922 for Taft. In electoral votes Wilson won 435 to 88, with 8 for Taft. Tippecanoe County, with Marshall's home-state influence, gave the Democrats 4,442 votes, but split 5,844 others: Taft, 3,006, and Roosevelt, 2,838. Only three Republicans won contested county races in the Democrat landslide. Among Republican losers: eight-term Congressman Edgar Crumpacker. Harry G. Leslie, former West Lafayette town clerk, won the county treasurer race, and was one of only two Republican winners.
Republicans won their customary county election contests, and Congessman Will R. Wood gained re-election. West Lafayette merchant Ray Southworth succeeded Alva O. Reser as state senator.
Herman Beutler, 26, Green Hill, gassed during combat in World War I, died of influenza and complications at the home of a sister in Lafayette. He had been in an Army hospital in Denver until February, 1920.
A native Hoosier from Elwood, now a lawyer and international businessman, Wendell L. Willkie, was the Republican nominee for U.S. President. But Roosevelt easily won an unprecedented third term, 27,244,160 to 22,305,198 and 449-82 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe County backed Willkie 16,148 to 12,129. Republicans again swept local contests in a voter turnout of 82%.
Republicans swept contested Tippecanoe County elections by ratios of 2 to 1.
Republican Donald W. Blue defeated Democrat incumbent William K. Gettings for Lafayette mayor 9,187 to 8,060. In West Lafayette, James Williamson became the city's first Democrat to win elective office, beating Republican Emmett Koehler 1,995 to 1,807 for mayor.
Republicans swept Tippecanoe County elections and Richard M. Nixon carried the county in his presidential victory. Earl Landgrebe, Valparaiso, won the county and full 2nd District U.S. Representative race. Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, senator from Minnesota, and American Independent George C. Wallace, Alabama governor. Nationally Nixon obtained 31,785,480 votes to 31,275,166 for Humphrey, 9,906,473 for Wallace; and 301 electoral votes to 191 and 46. Tippecanoe supported Nixon with 24,352 votes to 14,528 for Humphrey and 2,000 for Wallace.
Floyd Fithian, Purdue University history professor and Buck Creek area farmer, defeated Congressman Earl Landgrebe by 37,000 votes in the 2nd District election. Fithian became the first Democrat to win the district since George R. Durgan in 1932.
Sxiteen of Lafayette's 18 public schools were closed by a strike of teachers employed by Lafayette School Corporation. It was Tippecanoe County's first teacher walkout.
Businessman Irving Long, Louisville, Ky., offered to donate the 56-year-old Mars Theater, in need of repairs, to the City of Lafayette in honor of his father, Dennis H. Long.
Daniel Fogerty, 44, resigned as project manager of the Lafayette railroad relocation program. Mayor Riehle appointed assistant manager Elizabeth "Liz" Solberg, 45, to head the project.
Mayor James F. Riehle won an unprecedented sixth straight four-year term in Lafayette elections when he defeated Barry Richard 7,083 votes to 5,082. In West Lafayette, Mayor Sonya L. Margerum, unopposed, won her fourth straight election.
Tippecanoe County voters cast 22,556 votes for Republican Bob Dole's bid for the U.S. presidency, and 17,232 for the victorious Democrat Bill Clinton. The county also supported Republican Steve Goldsmith's losing bid for governor against Frank O'Bannon, a Democrat, giving Goldsmith 23,471 votes and O'Bannon 19,841. Republican Ed Pease, running in place of the retiring 7th District Congressman John T. Myers, and with Myers' endorsement, won the election, receiving 25,793 votes in Tippecanoe. The county gave Democrat Bob Hellman 16,578 votes, and West Lafayette Libertarian Barbara Bourland 2,519. State Rep. Sue Scholer, R-West Lafayette, defeated Democrat Jeff Clapper 8,633 to 5,714; Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, defeated challengers Sue O'Brien, a Republican, and Mark Rumps, a Libertarian. They received 13,481 votes, 7,587 votes, and 468 votes respectively. Tippecanoe County farmer Alan Kemper, a Republican drew 6,108 votes to incumbent Democrat Katie Wolf's 5,047, but Sen. Wolf won when all district votes were totaled.
Republican wins in Tippecanoe County Commissioner races ordinarily raised few eyebrows. But this year, victories by Kathleen Hudson and Jack Chase set off a series of controveries. Hudson received 17,507 votes out of more than 44,000 cast - well below half. Democrat Paul Clark polled 11,322 votes, but in a shocking surprise Libertarian candidate K.D. Benson received 14,951. Chase, a retired county police officer, defeated Democrat Loran McMaster, 28,070 to 14,456. Chase took office with Hudson and holdover Commissioner Gene Jones in January. Hudson and Jones, conservatives, had the backing of right-wing Christian organizations.
Jim Colletto resigned as Purdue University head football coach. His six-year record had been 21 wins, 43 losses and two ties. Academic casualties, player suspensions and inability to recruit top talent contributed to his demise. He shortly signed on as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame University. On Nov. 24, Purdue hired Joe Tiller as head coach. A Purdue assistant in 1983-86, Tiller had been head coach at Wyoming, where in six seasons his teams won 39 games, lost 29, tied one.
The nine-month-old Tippecanoe County Agricultural Society sponsored its first fair in the downtown block bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Columbia and South streets. [Some sources date the first fair as November, 1840, at the same location.]
With the nation on the brink of civil war, Republican Abraham Lincoln, Illinois lawyer, legislator and congressman, beat three others for the U.S. presidency. The losers included Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, Vermont-born Illinois lawyer, judge and congressman; Democrat John C. Breckenridge, a Kentucky soldier, lawyer, congressman and statesman; and Constitutional Unionist John Bell, a Tennessee lawyer, congressman and cabinet member. Electoral votes were 180, 12, 72 and 39, respectively. Tippecanoe County's voters backed Lincoln with 3,480, to 2,276 for Douglas, 117 for Breckenridge, 34 for Bell.
Dr. Moses Baker with others assisting performed Indiana's first Ceasarean surgery in a rural home near Stockwell. Mrs. Luther Lucas gave birth to a son. BACKGROUND: The Courier of Dec. 4 contained details and an account written by Dr. Baker.
Republican Benjamin Harrison, Ohio-born soldier, lawyer and senator from Indianapolis, Ind., ousted President Cleveland because of the electoral system, 233-168. Cleveland clearly won the popular vote, 5,538,233 to 5,440,216 Tippecanoe County favored Harrison 5,072 to 4,386.
Republicans routinely swept county elections. Helen Gougar was barred from voting on account of law allowing only males to vote. It was the basis for a friendly lawsuit headed for the Indiana Supreme Court. The Indiana Suffrage Association, of which she had been a member 18 years, backed her strategy to have the law overturned, so that eligible women could vote.
President McKinley again defeated William Jennings Bryan, this time 7,219,530 to 6,358,071 and by 292 electoral votes to 155. Tippecanoe County cast 6,317 votes for McKinley, 4,673 for Bryan. Edgar D. Crumpacker, Republican, defeated Democrat John Ross, Lafayette, for congressman. The county elected Republicans Henry W. Marshall and Alva O. Reser to the Indiana House.
Donations poured in toward a $50,000 goal for a Purdue Memorial Gymnasium honoring those who died in the train wreck.
Mayor George R. Durgan, in a comeback, won his fourth term, defeating Republican Edwin Boswell 3,485 to 1,481, the most one-sided result in Lafayette election lore.
Republican Herbert Hoover, Iowa mining engineer, war relief commissioner and cabinet member, crushed Democrat Alfred E. Smith, New York legislator and governor, 21,392,190 to 15,016,443 and 444-87 in electoral votes for U.S. President. Tippecanoe County backed Hoover 16,165 to 8,720, the GOP vote enhanced by the fact that Harry G. Leslie, West Lafayette, ran for governor (and won), getting 14,333 in Tippecanoe. Leslie drew 728,203 votes statewide to Democrat Frank Dailey's 683,545.
The YWCA accepted the donation of the old Folckemer home at the northwest corner of Sixth and Brown streets from Anna Hutt.
In county and city elections Republicans rebounded from 1932 defeats and swept most races. William N. Teal defeated Democrat Mayor John Hudson 6,734 to 6,369 in Lafayette. Myron B. Morgan won re-election as West Lafayette mayor over Democrat Thomas Humphrey 6,645 to 1,066. Fred Landis, a Republican from Logansport, defeated Congressman Durgan in the 2nd District.
West Lafayette High School's football team, with 24 straight wins, lost 27-0 at South Bend Washington in hard rain. BACKGROUND: The Journal Courier on Nov. 5 detailed the team's winning streak.
Republicans won Lafayette and West Lafayette mayoral elections. William N. Teal defeated Democrat Mayor Albert J. Krabbe in Lafayette, 6,583 to 4,620. In West Lafayette the Republican ticket headed by Mayor Charles Burnham went unopposed, and just 422 voters showed up.
President Eisenhower again defeated Adlai Stevenson for U.S. President 35,590,472 to 26,022, and by 457 to 73 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe County gave Eisenhower 23,776 votes to 9,995, and Republicans won all contested local races.
Republicans swept the Tippecanoe County election contests. The three-unit (Lafayette / West Lafayette / rural Tippecanoe) school reorganization proposal carried 8,311 to 1,502 in Lafayette and 1,807 to 537 in West Lafayette, both to take effect Jan. 1, 1963.
Tippecanoe County cast 29,706 votes for victorious presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and just 15,789 for Democrat Walter Mondale. The county barely backed Republican Robert Orr for governor, however, with 22,809 to 22,275 for Democrat Wayne Townsend, a Purdue graduate. The county helped send Congressman John T. Myers back to Washington from Indiana's 2nd District, giving him 28,323 votes to 15,213 for Democrat Arthur Smith, and 2,413 for Dr. Barbara Bourland, of West Lafayette, running on the Libertarian Party ticket. In Indiana House races, Stan Jones, D-West Lafayette, won re-election with 11,019 votes to 7,681 for Republican Dr. John Knote; and Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, won with 12,734 votes to 9,204 for Republican challenger Marian Miller.
Leon Burtnett resigned as Purdue University football coach after a five-year tenure in which his teams won 20 games, lost 32, tied one. On Dec. 10, the university hired former Texas University head coach Fred Akers.
Tippecanoe County voters helped in the election victories of U.S. Sen. Dan Coats and 7th District Congressman John T. Myers in a mostly "Republican year." Coats defeated Democrat Baron Hill 18,845 to 13,619 in the county, which gave Myers 18,985 votes to 12,779 for Democrat John W. Riley, Sr., and 506 for Libertarian Barbara Bourland. State Sen. Mike Gery, D-West Lafayette, defeated Republican John H. Meyers 16,018 to 12,364; and Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, defeated Republican challenger Kitty Koehler 9,042 to 7,365. Rep. Stan Jones, D-West Lafayette, lost to Republican county commissioner Sue Scholer 5,752 to 5,280.
Whig William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe 25 years before, lost to Democrat Martin Van Buren 170 electoral votes to 73 for U.S. President. Harrison was a Virginia-born soldiers, congressman and territorial governor. Van Buren was a New York lawyer, congressman and governor. Tippecanoe County, however, supported its hero Harrison and shifted to the Whig side. It cast 1,244 votes for Harrison, 1,041 for Van Buren.
Democrats scored rare wins in county elections, winning the jobs of coroner, treasurer, prosecutor, state senator, and two seats on the board of commissioners. Thomas Ward defeated long-time Congressman Godlove S. Orth, now in failing health, by 239 in Tippecanoe and by 875 in the 9th District.
Four Lafayette passengers were among 17 hurt when a train on the Cloverleaf (Nickel Plate) line derailed a mile east of Frankfort.
Per new state law, city and town elections took place the first Tuesday in November. In Lafayette, Mayor Durgan won a four-year term by defeating Republican John Morrisson 3,132 to 2,013.
On the 97th anniversary of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the state Battle Ground Monument Commission dedicated a 92-foot-tall white granite battlefield monument. The contract had gone to a firm from Buffalo, N.Y.
A mock battle, speeches and ceremonies marked the Battle of Tippecanoe centennial. Speakers included former Vice President Charles Fairbanks, Governor Thomas Marshall, Governor Chase Osborn of Michigan, and poet Evaleen Stein. Purdue University ROTC students represented Harrison's army in the mock battle. Red Men's Lodge members impersonated the Indians.
President Woodrow Wilson won re-election over Republican Charles Evans Hughes, New York lawyer, judge and governor, 9,129,606 to 8,538,221 and 277-254 in electoral votes. Marshall won re-election as Vice President. Tippecanoe County backed Hughes, 6,386 to 4,918.
Republicans swept local elections, and Cora Davis became the first county woman to win an election to public office. She defeated Democrat Charles Benjamin for auditor 10,009 to 7,622. Harry G. Leslie won the joint state representative seat, and Sen. Ray Southworth, West Lafayette, gained re-election.
Republican Thomas E. Dewey, New York governor, lawyer and crime-busting prosecutor, challenged Franklin D. Roosevelt for U.S. President. But Roosevelt won a fourth term 25,602,504 to 22,006,285, and by 432 electoral votes to 99. Tippecanoe County typically backed Republican Dewey 15,888 to 10,229, as Republican candidates swept all local election contests.
Republicans swept county elections. Voters in Tippecanoe and Warren counties elected Lafayette attorney Cable G. Ball as their joint state representative.
Lafayette Mayor Donald Blue and Mayor James Williamson, of West Lafayette, won re-election.
General Foods Corporation announced that it had chosen a building site southeast of Lafayette for construction of a food processing plant. GF described the project in detail on May 8, 1969, and broke ground June 5.
Republicans won overwhelmingly in county elections, with President Nixon leading all. Democrat Floyd Fithian, a Purdue history professor, defeated Republican Congressman Landgrebe by 7,500 in the county, but lost the district. Nixon defeated Democrat George S. McGovern, senator from South Dakota, 47,169,911 to 29,170,383 nationally, and by 520-17 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe County backed Nixon 31,565 to 14,598.
Dedication took place at the South Side Community Center on South Fourth Street.
Republicans swept all Tippecanoe County elections for courthouse jobs. But Democrat Congressman Fithian won his third straight term, and State Sen. Mike Gery and State Rep. Stan Jones, both West Lafayette Democrats, won re-elections to the legislature.
Republican Dave Heath, 48, former Tippecanoe County sheriff, defeated Democrat James F. Riehle, 65, by 164 votes and ended Riehle's reign of 24 years in office, longest tenure for a mayor in Lafayette history. Heath gained 6,412 votes to Riehle's 6,248. Republican Lisa Decker defeated incumbent Eileen Hession Weiss for controller, 6,414 to 6,070. Republicans dominated City Council elections with victories by Phyllis Boehning, Ron Alting, Michael Smith, Norbert A. Fisher, Jack Rhoda and Dennis Probasco. Democrats elected Ron Campbell, Johanna Downie and Steven P. Meyer.
In the Presidential election, Democrat Grover Cleveland won the office back from Benjamin Harrison. Nationally, it was 5,556,918 to 5,176,108 in the popular vote and 277-145 in electoral votes. Tippecanoe backed Harrison, 4,856 to 4,386, and elected Republicans in all local races.
Republicans per custom swept Tippecanoe County election contests.
Republican Theodore Roosevelt, New York soldier, legislator, civil servant and outdoorsman, defeated Democrat Alton Parker, New York lawyer and judge, 7,628,834 to 5,084,491, and by 336-140 in the electoral college. Charles Fairbanks won election as vice president, Frank Hanly as governor, Daniel Storms as secretary of state. Tippecanoe County favored Roosevelt 6,206 to 3,818. Rep. Ele Stansbury won re-election. Thomas M. Andrew succeeded Rep. Henry Marshall, who did not run.
Republicans won county election contests, and Will R. Wood won re-election to the Indiana Senate.
Democrat George R. Durgan won his fifth term as Lafayette mayor with 6,193 votes to 5,553 for George Baxter.
Virginia Stein, 84, Lafayette city librarian for 32 years, died.
The depths of the Great Depression smashed voting traditions as Democrat presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt and his radical New Deal philosophy of government assistance carried the land. Roosevelt, a New York lawyer, legislator, governor and cabinet member, defeated President Hoover 22,821,857 to 15,761,841 and 472-59 in electoral votes. Democrat Paul V. McNutt defeated Ray Springer for Indiana governor. Tippecanoe County in one the few instances it backed a Democrat for president, cast 13,604 votes for FDR, 11,818 for Hoover. Democrats also swept county and township races, and in the new 13-county 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Will R. Wood lost to former Lafayette mayor George R. Durgan. The county experienced a record turnout of 25,422 voters, and gave Roosevelt 13,604 votes to 11,818 for Hoover.
Amelia Earhart arrived for three weeks of lectures and counseling work for women students at Purdue University.
Austin R. "Doc" Killian defeated George Durgan 6,764 to 6,631 for mayor in Lafayette. Dwight Keim beat Bern Grubb 1,843 to 1,043 for West Lafayette mayor. [Durgan requested a recount which enlarged Killian's margin of victory from 133 votes to 156 votes.]
Republican Kenneth R. Snyder defeated Democrat John B. Hudson for mayor in Lafayette 6,388 to 6,195. In West Lafayette, Republican Fred L. Willis topped Ruth Steer 2,126 to 1,362.
Lowell Martin, an attorney who overcame handicaps as a youth to finish Jefferson High School and Purdue University in a wheelchair, died, evidently of a heart attack, at 54.
Tippecanoe County Republicans swept the local election contests; and for president, Richard M. Nixon defeated John F. Kennedy 24,572 to 14,041 in the county. Nationally Kennedy won 34,226,731 to 34,108,157; the electoral college 303-219.
The S.S. Kresge Company, nationwide variety store chain, opened its K mart southeast of Lafayette off Indiana 38 - the first appearance of a "discount store" in Greater Lafayette.
Republicans swept Tippecanoe County elections. Republican Charles A. Halleck defeated Ralph McFadden easily for 2nd District Congressman.
Lafayette Mayor James F. Riehle, a Democrat, won his fourth straight four-year term in the city elections, defeating Republican Tim Monger 6,453 votes to 3,137. In West Lafayette, Democrat Mayor Sonya Margerum won re-election by defeating Republican John "Jack" Kimpel, 3,018 to 1,859. Republican Peggy Owens defeated Democrat Carol Kruel for W.L. clerk-treasurer, 2,407 to 2,403. Democrats won control of the W.L. City Council 4-3, and of the Lafayette City Council 6-3.
Sue Reser, soon moving to Indianapolis, resigned for the last eight weeks of her term as Tippecanoe County's first woman county commissioner. Republicans named Wabash Township Assessor Sue Scholer, who won the commissioner seat in the recent elections, to take on the job immediately instead of waiting until Jan. 1, 1985, to take office.
Tippecanoe County cast 27,897 votes in support of Republican George Bush for president, 16,256 for Democrat Michael Dukakis. The county backed U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar's re-election with 33,059 votes to 10,343 for Democrat Jack Wickes, and helped re-elect 2nd District Congressman John T. Myers with 25,247 votes to Democrat Mark Waterfill's 18,306. Tippecanoe gave a majority to Republican John Mutz with 24,552 votes to 19,662 for Democrat Secretary of State Evan Bayh, the winner for governor. Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, received 15,049 votes although unopposed. Democrat Rep. Stan Jones defeated Libertarian Barbara Bourland 9,956 to 2,426.
Wabash National Corporation "went public" and raised $33 million. Stock opened at $17.25 per share, 20 percent over expectations, and trading was delayed by the strong demand. By year's end the price had gone to about $20. The company acquired a spare parts distribution company during the year and became the sole maker of RoadRailer bi-modal trailers that could be carried by railroad flatcar, or pulled by a motorized truck cab. The company employed 1,000 people by year's end, making it the third-largest trailer maker in the U.S.
A strong turnout by Tippecanoe County Republican voters helped the re-election bids of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, and 7th District Congressman John T. Myers. Local voters gave Lugar 21,881 votes to 7,619 for Democrat Jim Jontz, and 1,053 for Barbara Bourland, the West Lafayette Libertarian. Myers defeated Democrat Mike Harmless 20,332 to 10,407 in the county. State Sen. Mike Gery, D-West Lafayette, defeated Republican Dave Koltick 11,840 to 9,980; State Rep. Sue Scholer, R-West Lafayette, unopposed, received 7,434 votes; and Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, topped Republican Steven Speheger, 8,597 to 6,401. County Councilman Gene Jones, advocating an incinerator as the solution for solid waste disposal, defeated incumbent County Commissioner Hubert Yount. Of comparable significance was the outcome of three races for positions on the Lafayette School Corporation board. Three incumbents caught up in years of controversy and acrimony with teachers, administrators, patrons and some fellow board members - Thomas Walgamuth, Richard Bennett, and Dale Richardson - lost re-election bids to James W. Van Ness, CarolJo "C.J." Brown, and Robert P. Glinke, who began their terms Jan. 1, 1995. Brown, believed to be the first African-American to win any Tippecanoe County election, edged Vanessa PeGan by one vote, but PeGan opted not to ask for a recount.
As national debate increased over female suffrage, Lafayette newspapers printed a few letters about the issue. On this date some 200 people attended a convention sponsored by pro-suffrage interests in the opera house at Fourth and Ferry.
Voters, in a light turnout, defeated an ordinance by which Lafayette would have annexed Chauncey. Chauncey approved the idea 48 to 39, but Lafayette quashed it 441-220.
The State Commission on School reorganization held a hearing on a revised three-unit plan for Tippecanoe County. This one, like one discussed in early August, drew opposition from many speakers.
Earl L. Butz, dean of agriculture at Purdue University, announced as a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor.
The Big Four and Lake Erie railroads opened their Union Station at Second and South streets.
Sale of stock began for Lafayette's first bank - a proposed State Bank of Indiana, Lafayette Branch, for which a 20-year charter had been issued. Directors, half named by the state, were William F. Reynolds, John Purdue, Samuel Hoover, William K. Rochester, Israel Spencer, Joseph S. Hanna and Elizur Deming.
Celebrants marked the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Tippecanoe with a basket dinner and speeches at the battlefield near the town of Battle Ground.
The Lafayette Commercial Club bought the old Lafayette Plow Works plant on South Third Street and kept raising cash for Duncan Electric Meter Company. [Duncan opened in the vacant factory space in the spring of 1902.]
Purdue University began using Eliza Fowler Hall, but waited until May 4, 1904, during Gala Week, to dedicate it at commencement time.
A cold wave, referred to by some as the "11-11-11 hurricane," packed wind of 50 mph and dropped Lafayette temperature from 74 degrees at 4 p.m. to 9 degrees at midnight. Damage was heavy in several midwestern states, locally harming buildings, signs, and knocking out electric power.
Word of the armistice ending World I was greeted in Lafayette by railroad locomotive whistles, church bells, school, store and factory closings; two parades. About 30,000 people celebrated in the courthouse square.
Jefferson High School defeated West Lafayette 40-0 in football in an Armistice Day game played on Purdue University's Stuart Field.
West Lafayette High School defeated Lafayette Jefferson 29-0 in a football game played at Purdue University's Stuart Field.
Purdue University dedicated the Horticulture Building.
Jefferson and West Lafayette high school football teams played, for the second time of the season, in Ross-Ade Stadium. Jeff won 20-6.
President Richard M. Nixon nominated Earl L. Butz, dean of continuing education at Purdue University, and former dean of agriculture, to be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. [Butz, 62, took the oath of office Dec. 2.]
At a fire near 10th and North the city's steam fire engine malfunctioned. A small pony-drawn rig owned by Thomas Underwood worked well. Mayor Ulrich believed incompetency ruined the steam engine and fired the city's chief engineer before the calmer City Council reinstated him. The Council decided to abandon the steam engine and revert to hand-pump equipment for firefighting. Underwood's machine "Schuyler Colfax" was the last privately owned fire engine in Lafayette.
After several meetings, clergy and other civic-minded leaders formed a Young Men's Christian Association, or YMCA, in Lafayette.
Wabash Railroad engineer Israel Dodge, Lafayette, died when his engine hit crossties placed by vandals on rails near West Lebanon. Three Warren County boys admitted the prank.
United Way campaign fund-raisers obtained $3,009,667, 5.6 percent over goal.
Purdue University trustees asked the state legislature to appropriate $100,000 for land purchases and construction, and for an artesian well to be drilled at the Chauncey campus.
The Courier printed a story about early weather observations at Purdue University, featuring W.H. Ragan, director of the state volunteer weather service. Volunteer observers from 32 locations reported data to Purdue. The weather service began in about 1880.
Main Street Bridge opened, and builder Wallace Marshall drove the first automobile over it. Streetlights were switched on Nov. 25, and street railway service to West Lafayette, the Soldiers Home and Battle Ground, resumed for the first time since the 1913 flood.
Arthur G. Hansen, Purdue University president since 1971, announced his intention to leave as soon as a successor could be found. He and his wife Nancy would pursue private interests elsewhere.
The United Way campaign, by raising $2,211,872, passed its goal.
Purdue and Indiana University teams played their first intercollegiate football game in West Lafayette before 1,200 spectators. Purdue led 60-0 when play was suspended.
The second deadly gravel slide in 10th Street Hollow, two blocks north of Kossuth, took the lives of Rufus Wilson and George Walters who were shoveling below an almost perpendicular wall 40 feet high. Contractor W.F. Grey ran the gravel pit.
Investigators ruled that, by failing to notify the Indianapolis yardmaster of the special train, a Big Four Railroad dispatcher in Kankakee, Ill., was to blame for the tragic accident of Oct. 31.
New owners reopened the Victoria Theater at 11-19 N. Fourth St. On the same day the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt passed through enroute to Chicago from Indianapolis. Her private train included a Pullman car and six baggage cars filled with scenery for the 20 plays in her repertoire.
President Charles A. Burnett, a bankruptcy referee and Lafayette attorney, filed papers incorporating a Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.
Lafayette Mayor William N. Teal died at age 69. City controller Kenneth R. Snyder, per state law, became mayor and took office on Nov. 18.
The United Way campaign, although it raised $2,000,321 to support some 20 social service agencies in 1985, fell about $25,000 short of its goal.
The annual United Way campaign exceeded its goal with $2,040,483 in gifts and pledges.
Purdue University began demolition of its 627-space Grant Street Parking Garage, clearing space for a 1,417-space replacement due to open in the fall of 1996.
William Jennings Bryan spoke in Eliza Fowler Hall at Purdue, and in the polo coliseum at a fund-raiser for the YMCA building project.
President-elect Harding designated Tippecanoe County's Republican chairman Robert M. Campbell as Lafayette postmaster, succeeded Charles H. Ball, postmaster since 1913.
Congressman-elect Fred Landis, former congressman, columnist, orator, playwright and brother of federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, died of pneumonia. Per law in this circumstance, a special election needed to be held in January to choose a 2nd District congressman.
The United Fund drive passed its $248,978 goal in 39 days.
About 400 demonstrated against the Vietnam war again in a march from Purdue Mall to the Tippecanoe County Courthouse.
The 1980 United Way fund drive, despite recession conditions, surpassed its goal by raising $1,543, 435 in cash and pledges.
South Side Community Center marked the 10th anniversary of its opening at the northwest corner of Fourth and Fountain streets. The Center evolved from a South End Community House movement by neighbors in 1936.
The United Way campaign closed 5 percent over its goal, with $2,771,429 in cash and pledges.
As Persian Gulf tension rose, 75 Lafayette-area members of the 300th Supply and Service Battalion went on 180-day active duty, trained at Fort Sheridan, Ill., then flew to Saudi Arabia on Dec. 4.
The United Way campaign exceeded its goal by .2 percent, finishing with $3,360,327.
Washington School opened at the site of the old Jenks School at 11th and Elizabeth Sts. Dedication took place as part of George Washington's birthday celebration on Feb. 22, 1901.
A football accident on the playing field atop South Sixth Street hill led to the peritonitis death of Lyle Nicol, 16, son of Purdue athletic director Hugh Nicol. Lyle, who sustained a chest injury when tackled, usually played for a school team from West Lafayette. But on this occasion he competed with Ford School athletes against the bigger and older boys on the Lafayette High School junior varsity.
The federal census for 1900 counted 40,063 people in Tippecanoe County (Lafayette, 22,486; West Lafayette 3,830).
William H. Zinn, for 47 years a Lafayette dry goods or department store merchant, died at age 77.
Robert Sample, 91, officer of First Merchants National Bank and its predecessors for 62 years, died.
The Catholic Church created a Lafayette Diocese from part of the Fort Wayne Diocese. Lafayette's would contain 47 parishes, 100 priests, 25 schools, and serve 40,000 Catholics. [Right Rev. Monsignor John G. Bennett, pastor of a church at Garrett, Ind., became the new diocese's first bishop, consecrated at Fort Wayne Jan. 10, 1945, and installed at Lafayette in ceremonies in St. Mary's Cathedral on Jan. 18, 1945.]
Since 1977 a West Lafayette Committee on Human Rights in the Soviet Union, led by Rabbi Gedalyeh Engel and other founders, had been campaigning for freedom for political dissidents or "refuseniks." In concert with similar groups about the U.S. the Committee had obtained petitions for presentation to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., through Congressman John T. Myers. Now the Soviet Union announced plans to allow 10 people, subjects of petitions, to leave. Among them was Irina McClellan, Russian-born wife of Woodford McClellan, a Maryland professor of Russian history. They had married in 1974 in Russia but Irina had yet to be allowed to join her American husband.
A highly critical Medicare review of patient care and conditions at the Indiana Veterans Home led to the suspension, and later firing, of the home's medical director, Dr. Harold Hebard, and early retirement of the long-time superintendent Robert D. Hines. By year's end state officials said most deficiencies cited in the state review had been corrected under acting director Janet Stailey.
A new urban traffic study listed the most dangerous intersections as Sagamore Parkway at the Target Drive shopping center entrance, at Indiana 26, at Indiana 25 / Schuyler Avenue; at Greenbush; and the Lafayette junction of Main and Columbia streets.
The United Way campaign raised $3,477,000, about 1.4 percent over its goal.
The Fakir of Siva, a traveling "Oriental Magician and Ventriloquist," played to a turnaway Lafayette crowd of 500 in Meredith Hall, then moved on to Crawfordsville and Indianapolis.
In recounts of two close Nov. 4 elections, Bauer defeated Durgan by 73 votes (2,850 to 2,777) and a Citizens ticket candidate named Vaughan won the city clerk race against Republican Weisbach by 36 votes.
David Ross and George Ade gave Purdue University $20,000 more, and other alumni were raising $34,600 to finish the athletic stadium.
Charles R. Deets, former Nickel Plate Railroad official, now local administrator of the federal Depression-relief programs, said proposed public works projects would employ 1,030 Tippecanoe County men, paying up to $1.20 per hour for five 6-hour work days a week. Jobs included tree trimming, berm and drainage work, sewer improvements, street grading, and painting public buildings.
An arsonist set a fire in a draft board office near Mar-Jean Village Shopping Center in Lafayette, evidently another anti-war maneuver.
Purdue University started an Athletics Hall of Fame in ceremonies at Indianapolis. Among the first inductees: track star Ray Ewry, basketball player Terry Dischinger, volleyball all-American Jane Neff Myers; football greats Bob Griese and Leroy Keyes.
August Wylie laid out a town (later abandoned) he named West Lafayette, with 140 lots, in Wabash River bottomland on the west bank just below Lafayette.
The Journal said the L&I Railroad was settling death and injury claims "promptly and honorably." Indiana law limited death damages to $5,000; injury victims might get more.
Purdue University announced Eliza Fowler's gift of $60,000 for an assembly hall. About 1,200 students paraded to her South Street home and sang in recognition of her gift, and to express the university's appreciation.
A permanent, 10-bed contagious disease detention hospital opened on land south of the Lake Erie Railroad tracks west of the Wabash River.
William Jennings Bryan spoke at a Democratic Party function in the coliseum.
Star Lanes with 24 bowling alleys and restaurant opened at 17th Street and Schuyler Avenue.
Purdue University's football team,which won 8 games, lost 2 and tied one under second-year coach Jim Young and sophomore quarterback Mark Herrmann, accepted an invitation to play Georgia Tech in the post-season Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga. It was Purdue's second-ever bowl appearance, first since 1967. [In the Christmas Day game, Purdue won 41-21 on national television.]
Jim Young announced is resignation as head football coach at Purdue University, surprising friends and team members. He accepted a position as associate athletic director. Shortly thereafter, Purdue named Leon Burtnett, as head coach.
St. Mary's Hospital admitted its first patients in the new brick building near 14th and Hartford. [The place later became known as Sisters' Hospital, then St. Elizabeth Hospital.]
Carl Hartman, Shadeland, sighted an unidentified flying object, or "UFO," going east over Elston about 9 a.m. He called it a "great big silver disc flying east at jet speed."
Groundbreaking took place to start construction of a junior high and elementary school complex east of North Salisbury in West Lafayette.
The United Way campaign raised $4,042,022, which was 1.4 percent above its goal.
Mayor-elect Ross named Carolyn Koerner, Fowler National Bank general bookkeeper, as the first woman to serve as Lafayette City Controller.
The Sixth War Loan campaign began, and Tippecanoe County set out to meet a war bond sale goal of $4.1 million.
Three firemen eventually died and four others survived injuries when fire destroyed the Wonder Bread Company garage on Indiana 26 near U.S. 52 Bypass. Firemen were washing away spilled gasoline about 5:30 a.m. when the fuel burst into flame. Capt. Clarence Anderson, 50, and Fireman Walter Leaman, Jr., 26, died the day of the fire; Capt. Marshall Leaman, 50, two days later.
Bishop John G. Bennett of the Lafayette Catholic Diocese died at 66. The church designated John J. Carberry as the next bishop.
A windstorm, termed by some weather observers as a "gustnado," or near-tornado, ripped off roofs and caused $2.2 million in damage at Tippecanoe Mall, Cambridge Estates Apartments, and two factories near the mall.
Purdue University dedicated the 154-by-76-foot University Hall.
A Montgomery County court, to which the case had been transferred, convicted Fred Pettit of the poisoning murder of his wife, Hattie, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
In settlement of the contested will of former Congressman Will R. Wood, who died in March, 1932, Purdue University received a gift of $31,387.
Purdue University's football team quarterbacked by Bob Griese, accepted a bid to play in the prestigious Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 2, 1967. [Griese was named most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference on Dec. 26.]
Lafayette's barbers formed a "combination" to take effect next day, agreeing to charge 10c for a shave instead of 5c. This reflected the wartime inflationary trend nationwide.
Members dedicated their German Reformed Church building at 10th and Ferry streets.
Brown Street Bridge reopened with new ironwork replacing the temporary wooden span hurriedly installed after the March flood.
Purdue dedicated Ross-Ade Stadium and 18,000 fans watched Purdue defeat Indiana 26-7 in football. Alva E. "Cap" Kemmer, Purdue Class of 1902, headed the construction firm that built the stadium in five months.
The controversial Jefferson High School addition containing a gym, classrooms and vocational training space, opened. In the first basketball game in the new gym on Dec. 7, Jefferson defeated Indianapolis Manual, 44-15.
The Journal and Courier published reporter Dave Bangert's revealing account of the situation among local homeless people. His Thanksgiving Day article was titled "Homeless for the Holidays."
Lafayette Light & Fuel Company stockholders voted to raise $2,500 more so as to deepen a failed gas/oil well drilled to 2,200 feet near the three-railroad junction.
In another "underground" prize fight, Dick Keating defeated Ed White, Cincinnati, in five rounds in a Fountain County cornfield near Perrysville. Newspapers reported these fights after the fact. Advance publicity would have invited law enforcement officers. Keating beat White again on Dec. 21 in nine rounds in a Brookston-area barn.
Lafayette and West Lafayette high schools played football at League Park south of State Street Levee. Lafayette won 6-0 before 2,000 spectators.
Serious talk resurfaced on the subject of merging Lafayette and West Lafayette.
West Lafayette's school board bought 14.4 acres for a high school athletic field and future high school site west of North Grant Street.
Lafayette attorney George Rainey, 37, pleaded guilty to counterfeiting and a U.S. District Court in Hammond suspended his sentence. Rainey split $5 bills and fitted them to bogus halves. When arrested by Lafayette police Sept. 23, officers confiscated engraving plates he used for printing the "bad" halves.
Fire injured two firemen and damaged the Montgomery, Ward Company's store at 610 Main St. The store reopened at 218 North Third St. in December.
Special Prosecutor George Hanna said he and state police conducted more than 150 interviews about police corruption and judicial system complaints, and would present evidence to a special grand jury. [The probe ended Dec. 18, and the jury met Jan. 12, 1976.]
The soup kitchen operated by St. Ann's Catholic Church provided free Thanksgiving dinners to 1,313 low-income or needy recipients.
Purdue University officials placed the cornerstone during a ceremony at the Memorial Union Building construction site.
Three days after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Tex., memorial services were held on a gloomy Monday on the north side of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse on the public square.
After President Nixon described a growing national energy crisis, with higher prices for gasoline, oil and natural gas likely, local residents began turning off gas lights, lowering thermostats, driving less.
Wabash Valley Hospital Mental Health Center opened. Dr. Richard Rahdert, child psychiatrist on the Arnett Clinic staff, was medical director.
Investigators blamed icy conditions on the surface of Harrison Bridge for a morning rush-hour, four-car accident that killed three persons and injured three.
"Buffalo Bill" Cody's troupe presented the drama The Prairie Waif along with a shooting demonstration at the Grand Opera House.
Lillian Russell starred in Polly in two Thanksgiving Day shows in the Grand Opera House.
Martin L. Peirce, 28, telegraph news editor for the Courier and grandson of the banker, died when an interurban railroad car hit his automobile at the Spring Vale Cemetery entrance.
Belated word arrived of the World War I deaths of Robert McGrath, Lafayette, in Italy and Emil Wiser, West Lafayette, in France. In all, 55 war-related deaths touched Tippecanoe County during the war, and one nurse died of influenza overseas. About 1,600 men served in the Army, 200 in the Navy from the county.
Wind measured at 76 mph in gusts tore across Tippecanoe County but left minimal damage during the passage of a cold front.
West Lafayette High School's football team, coached by Ernie Beck, defeated Clarksville Providence 22-7 and won the Class 2A state championship in the Hoosier Dome at Indianapolis. The undefeated Red Devils, led by 1,000-yard running backs Paul Durkes and Chike Okeafor, won 14 games without a loss.
The Big Four and Lake Erie Railroads announced plans to build a brick and stone Union Depot at Second and South streets. The Monon Railroad planned a stone depot near North Street beside its Fifth Street tracks.
Four men died and 14 suffered injuries when a war-workers' bus bound for the ALCOA plant hit a truck on the narrow concrete bridge over Wildcat Creek northeast of Lafayette on Indiana 25.
An early morning fire in a home at 2212 Meadow Drive took the lives of four daughters of Mr. and Mrs. William Jackman.
In First Presbyterian Church the Laing Brothers Phonograph Concert demonstrated new sound-recording technology. Vibrations on a glass disc reproduced the call of a trumpet, and cylinder recordings played music by John Philip Sousa's and other bands, the chimes of Trinity Methodist Church, and a recitation of the 23rd Psalm.
About 1,200 in Moore's Park saw a Thanksgiving Day high school football doubleheader. West Lafayette defeated Danville, Ill., 34-2; then Lafayette beat Peru 17-4.
James Murdock, 70, died in the State Street home of his son Samuel. With Eastern capitalists Murdock had invested in natural gas drilling and interurban railroad ventures; formed the Indiana Lighting Company, presided over Merchants National Bank and the Evansville & Southern Indiana Traction Company. He was a Sterling Electric Company, Belt Railway and Romney Stock Farm stockholder, and a director of the Monon Railroad, other banks and traction companies. Born in Ireland, he had come to Lafayette from Kentucky to work in a brickyard.
The cornerstone was placed at the federal building at Fourth and Ferry streets
Fire damaged seven of the 20 rooms in "Earlhurst," the historic home of Adams Earl and his heirs. Contractor John E. Smith owned the 111-year-old home and grounds at the northwest corner of 21st and Union streets.
On Thanksgiving Day Lafayette High School's football team defeated Oakwood (West Lafayette) 6-0 in Moore's Park. Merchants put on a banquet for the teams that evening, and there was talk about making it an annual event. [A game was scheduled for 1907, but Lafayette's team disbanded at midseason.]
As national economic conditions worsened, Purdue University suspended baseball, track and other minor sports programs, keeping only football and basketball. Football revenue had fallen below estimates. The cuts were rescinded on Dec. 19 after acceptance of an offer of financial relief from the Ross-Ade Foundation.
The Indiana State Highway Commission announced long-range plans to widen, in phases, U.S. 52 Bypass around Lafayette and West Lafayette. The bypass had opened in 1938.
General Foods closed its plant south of Lafayette, moving operations into a facility in Delaware. About 200 workers were given their last two days off with pay. About 30-40 would remain at the plant until April, 1990. The plant had manufactured gelatin and puddings, stuffing mixes, pet foods and other products. The changing nature of competition and public tastes rendered the plant too large for the company's needs.
James Vauclain found enough problems while testing the city's steam fire engine that city officials decided to ship it back to the manufacturer in New York.
Most of Lafayette's 20-some physicians, at a meeting hosted by Dr. Thomas Chestnut, revived the Tippecanoe County Medical Society after 20 years. A week later at the suggestion of a nominating committee, the members elected Chestnut president, Elias Glick vice president; J.P. Wallace secretary; J.T. Ellsworth treasurer.
Lafayette Bridge Company finished construction of a South Fourth Street bridge over the Monon Railroad, a project financed by city government.
Tippecanoe County government held open house at Cary Home for Children, and opened the brick building on Dec. 3 for 50 boys and girls. The City of Lafayette annexed the Home and grounds.
Jesse C. Andrew, West Point area farmer and legislator, was elected president of the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago. He succeeded Henry W. Marshall, Sr., Lafayette, who held the office since 1933.
"Operation Skywatch" volunteers dedicated their tower near Crane Station.
The annual United Way drive surpassed its goal of $1,050,000 - the first to reach $1 million.
The long-embattled Tippecanoe Sanitary Landfill, the county's only waste disposal site under fire for a decade by state environmental authorities, will close in October, 1989. The state had tried to close it by various lawsuits, and by denying the landfill its operating permit. A trial set for Dec. 6, 1988, might have decided the matter, but state and landfill representatives settled it out of court.