I know Christmas is over but I just have to share how Christmas Story the Old Russ house on Main Street in Winslow looked. Debbie Lamb and her husband have done a fantastic job on the remodel and I can’t wait to see what they do with it.
The Keeton family has been so generous with their sharing for my blog stories. Their ancestors lived and worked in the area with mine. My Mammaw always talked about the crush she had on Ed Keeton. Pappaw John and Kitty told stories on each other until they were both gone. I sure miss their generation and wish I had listened more.
Perry Keeton shared these photos of his father, Lawrence Keeton from the CCC camp in Winslow.
Whenever I talk with folks who “remember when”, this tragedy always come up. Back in the days when most people walked to town for socializing, two Muren women were tragically killed and others injured while walking home in 1937 from the Winslow Halloween party.
From the Dispatch, Friday, November 5, 1937:
TWO WOMEN KILLED BY CAR AT SOUTH EDGE OF WINSLOW FRIDAY NIGHT
Mrs Josephine Lang and Mrs. Luella McCandless Meet Instant Death When Hit by Automobile
Mrs. Josephine Lang, widow of the late William Lang, and Mrs. Luella McCandless, widow of the late Curtis McCandless, were both instantly killed Friday night at 8:30 when hit by an automobile driven by Paul Maxey, 21, of near Oakland City. The accident happened on state highway 61 a few feet south of the bridge on lower Main Street. The women were returning to their homes in Muren after attending the Halloween Party in Winslow.
There were six in the party of women walking south along the highway, the two who were instantly killed, Mrs. Frona Auburn, her daughter, Evelyn Stewart, 19, her sister Oma Talbert and Betty Whitney, 12, of Petersburg, a granddaughter of Mrs. Lang. The ladies were walking south, the little Whitney girl holding hands with her grandmother with whom she intended to spend the weekend. A truck, driven by Joel Evans was passing them going in the same direction. Maxey caught up with the truck and turned out to pass it when he hit the women. The two women were killed outright and both bodies were thrown clear of the concrete, great pools of blood made where the bodies lay. They had evidently been thrown up on the Ford V-8 car as the windshield showed it had met with some sort of impact and the left front fender was badly bent.
Others seeing the wreck went at once and put in a call for ambulances and Dr. George Detar who went at once to the scene. It was seen that both Mrs. Lang and Mrs. McCandless had been instantly killed and at first it was thought Mrs. Frona Auburn was dead. They were removed to the Miller Hospital where Mrs. Auburn revived. The bodies of the dead women were sent to the morgues, Mrs. Lang to the Crecelius and Mrs. McCandless to the Brenton & Company place. Mrs. Auburn was given treatment at once. She is still in the hospital suffering a concussion of the brain, a large cut place on her head and internal injuries.
Marshal Claude Smith arrested the driver and locked him in the town jail. He was afterward removed to Petersburg to the county jail. As soon as the accident happened he stopped as quickly as he could and came back to town where he was arrested.
Both Evelyn Stewart and Betty Whitney were shocked and bruised some but neither of a serious nature. The Steward woman received a cut on her left knee. The shock was almost unbearable for these youngsters. They were taken to the hospital but were soon discharged.
Dr. D.W. Bell, county coroner, was notified at once as was Sheriff Goodman. Dr. Bell did not complete his inquest until Monday when he rendered a verdict that “Luella McCandless came to her death by an avoidable accident, being struck by an automobile, driven by one Paul Maxey, Oakland City, Indiana. The preponderance of evidence tends to show that the Ford V-8 automobile, driven by Paul Maxey, Oakland City, Ind., was traveling at a high rate of speed, and struck the deceased, Luella McCandless while she was walking on the left shoulder of the road, and I highly recommend that criminal action be taken against one Paul Maxey, Oakland City, Ind.”
The verdict of the coroner on Mrs. Lang was in substance the same as for Mrs. McCandless.
In the car with Maxey were Lennis Gentry son of Mr. and Mrs. Isom Gentry, and Paul Roberts. The boys were held pending the coroner’s inquest but were released as they were questioned.
Maxey was not drunk, as he was given a thorough test by Dr. Detar, although it was said he admitted to drinking two bottles of beer. He was held in the county jail for sometime but later released after no charges were filed against him. Maxey is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Maxey and lives at home with his parents east of Oakland City.
The ladies all lived in Muren, Mrs. Lang and Mrs. McCandless being near neighbors. Mrs. Auburn was Frona Talbert, later married a man by the name of Stewart and after his death married Auburn.
Josephine Lang was Josephine Faiss. She was born December 3, 1884 and was 52 years, 10 months and 26 days old at the time of her death. She was a daughter of George and Temperance Hurt Faiss. In 1902 she was married to James May with whom she lived until his death in 1904. One child by this marriage survives, Mrs. Edith Heacock of Ontario, California. In 1905 she was married to William T. Lang, a Spanish American war veteran and they lived together until his death June 5, 1935. Surviving are the following children: Mrs. Scott Norrington of Winslow, Mrs. Bessie Whitman of Indianapolis, Jodie Lang of Texas, Wilbur and Garnett Lang who lived at home with the mother.
Surviving also are six grandchildren, one great grandchild and a brother, John Faiss, of Centralia, Illinois.
Mrs. Lang was a member of the Muren General Baptist Church and was a Christian lady and a good neighbor who had the respect and esteem of all who knew her.
After the body was prepared for burial at the Crecelius Funeral Home it was taken to the home of her daughter, Mrs. Scott Norrington in the East End where it remained until Monday morning when the funeral service was held at the Muren G.B. church. Rev. G.A. Hopper, pastor of the Winslow Church, conducted the service. Burial was in the Williams Cemetery.
Mrs. McCandless was Luella Hopkins, a daughter of John P. and Hannah A. Hopkins. She was born in Pike County March 8, 1898 and had reached the age of 39 years, 7 months and 21 days. She lived in Patoka Township and grew to womanhood here and on January 30, 1919 she was united in marriage to Curtis McCandless. They lived together until his death a few years ago. The one child, Clifford, born to them survives. Surviving also are three step-children , the mother, two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Johnson and Mrs. Pearl Mann of Evansville and one brother, Samp Hopkins of Muren.
Mrs. McCandless was a member of the General Baptist church and was a Christian lady who was known throughout this section as such.
After the body had been prepared at the Brenton & Company funeral home it was removed to the home of her brother, Samp Hopkins in Muren where it remained until Sunday afternoon when the funeral services were held at the Muren church with the Rev. Edgar Curry in charge. Burial was in the Williams Cemetery.
Angel in Williams Cemetery.
I just can’t stand to see these things on Ebay and not buy them.
This is a 1909 Street Scene in Winslow. I think it might be my street. East Center Street.
Street Scene, Winslow, Indiana, #16
The reason I think it might be my street is because of looking at the old Commercial Hotel picture John Dedman posted on his Winslow Eskimo site it looks like it might be the same building from the other angle.
The Commercial Hotel, Center Street, Winslow, Indiana
Or it could be somewhere else in town. Maybe even Main Street.
There was a streetlight.
Back of card
Someone wanted to have chocolate pie with Clellia Skinner.
My grandma, Barbara Bolin Evans, had fond memories of working at Mac’s Café. She used to walk from Muren to Winslow into work. My Grandpa Evans always told the story about how when he first met her she was walking to work in the winter without a coat. He said the first thing he did when they started dating was buy her a winter coat.
She was close to the Dedman and McCord families back then, who ran the cafe. She remembered John David and Mary Jane Dedman Smith as children growing up there. I asked John David to share a little history of the store with me. John David Dedman runs the Winslow Eskimo website at www.jddedman.com. He worked for years as a postal clerk in Winslow and has some good stories to share.
Mac’s Cafe, Main Street Winslow, about 1956. Where the bank parking lot is now.
“At one time back in the 50’s, there was a Marathon gas station on the corner just south of the restaurant and there was a big sign out front that said “Mac’s Café”. Actually it was a tavern but they did have a fairly good food business, especially sandwiches.
The tavern burned in either 57 or 58 and was a total loss. The building was owned by Harcourt Scales and was not re-built after the fire. Someone had broken in to the tavern to steal things and torched it to cover up the break in.
Attached is a picture I had of the inside of the restaurant and I think it is dated 1952. The lady to the far left is Sarah McCord, my grandmother and I am sure the waitress is Barbara, your grandmother. I think the man drinking the beer could have been Pap Dorsey and the man sitting behind him reminds me of John Hunley. I cannot think of the names of the lady and man sitting at the bar but they were frequent guests in there.
I have this picture up on my web site at http://www.jddedman.com. The juke box is one of those old rare Seeberg record players, and then they had a bumper pool table. Later they put in a shuffle board and a TV. The kitchen was on the back left side and the door on the right was to men’s restroom, the ladies room was closer to the kitchen. One time in the mid 40’s they had slot machines that sat around the restroom door and along the wall. I remember on VE-D in 1945 after the end of the Japan war, I hit the jackpot on the 10 cent slot machine. It was not long after that the slots were taken out, and buried as it was becoming illegal to have them.”
Mac’s Cafe, 1952.
I had shared this picture with my grandma and she agreed she was the waitress. She remembered that old plaid dress.
“ After the tavern burnt, the John Russ Insurance Agency re-built it and had their insurance office there for several years. John Russ, Herbert Russ and Basil Thompson worked there. At one time, John let us use the back part of his office for amateur radio meetings which we held every month on a Monday night for a long time. I was a licensed ham, as well as Basil, and Herb wanted to get a license but never did. Ernie Hume and his wife and son did get a ham license. “
My grandma told me that she had a picture of Pearl and the store somewhere too. We found it one day in a box in the old cupboard in her bedroom. I shared it with John who told me about the picture.
The McCord’s at Mac’s Cafe.
“The photo you sent me was of Pearl B. McCord and his wife, Sarah E. McCord. They were the owners of Mac’s Café which was located at the location where the Citizens State Bank (German American) now sits. Pearl was my mother’s father and at one time in the early 30’s was Postmaster at Winslow Post Office. My actual grandmother – Audie, died when my mother was only 12 years old and Pearl married Sarah a few years later and they lived in the house down from you on Center Street where Jerry and Mary Jane lived for years..
I had lived in the same house from about 1958 until 1963 when I moved to Evansville, then Mary & Jerry moved in there.
My grandfather had a large roll top desk sitting where you see them in the picture and he did his book work there and it was where he could see the bar and kitchen. After the fire, the only thing that was saved was the desk and I ended up with it myself. I had to take off the roll-top as it was damaged too much, but the rest was okay and I used it for years while I was living in Winslow. “
Winslow Indiana and Patoka Township 