10 Years Ago Sally Hogan, excerpt from “The Thaddeus”: A survey of the county’s sectional basketball tournaments from the start of the standard tourney format in 1921 until 2000 shows that the weather has been stormy about 35 percent of the time. During the 1950s and 1960s, there was bad weather for 10 of 20 sectionals. Tim Shoemaker, a former junior high and freshman basketball coach, remembers standing in the snow at the Armory waiting to get into the sectional game. He said, “the line went all the way to the old jail.” In 1960 the tourney was at Columbia City, seven inches of snow snarled traffic on U.S. 30 and caused a half-hour delay in the opening game. Sheriff Holbrook organized an escort for the fan buses. The 1922 tournament, with mild weather, at Community Hall on Fort Wayne Street in what is now Central Park, had crowds jammed tightly into the building, the newspaper reported. Opening of the 1947 tournament was delayed when a fan tracked in snow that melted on the Armory floor. 25 Years Ago Willis Alt was appointed president of First National Bank of Warsaw effective April 1, announced George Lenke, chairman of the board. He is currently senior vice president and senior loan administrator, having been with FNBW since April 1,1970. Alt will succeed Neal Carlson, president since April 1, 1974, who will remain with the bank on a part-time basis. Winona Lake news: Malcolm Gilbert began his duties as police officer March 1, having been employed with the North Webster Police Department. Town engineer Larry Long met with county drainage officials to reduce flooding in Bibler Addition. Street and sanitation superintendent Kim Endicott presented plans to mill and repave Wooster Road. 50 Years Ago James L. Mayer, 1010 Chestnut St., Winona Lake, is a father of five. To support his family, he has a full-time job at the Warsaw Locker Plant, works as a meat cutter at Robinson Market several evenings and every other Sunday drives a route for Litchfield Creamery Co. He attends classes at Grace College each morning and will graduate in June with a degree to teach Spanish or English at the junior high school level. Brian Essenburg paced Lincoln with 14 points to edge Madison 33-22 and Mangus netted five in the city elementary school tournament. Bob Clark’s nine points led Adams over Atwood 29-19. Bair and Schwartz netted six each for the losers. 75 Years Ago William Hunter, former vaudeville entertainer, circus and carnival musician, piano player at the Colonial Theatre in Warsaw, steamboat engineer on Winona Lake and former Winona police officer told a Times-Union reporter that he and his vaudeville partner, Fred B. Heavy, penned the words to “Melancholy Baby” in 1911. The song was sold for $20. Hunter wrote a couple of sacred songs for Homer Rodeheaver. George 2nd Myers, manager of the Warsaw automobile license branch, anticipates a big rush for license plates next week. Despite the fact that Gov. Townsend extended the deadline to purchase plates from Jan. 1 to March 1, fully one-half of the automobile and truck owners of Kosciusko County are still without plates.
