In 1966, Marsh Supermarkets caused a stir across the Midwest by venturing into the rapidly expanding convenience store market. By the time it was acquired by a private equity firm four decades later, Marsh owned 154 Village Pantries spanning across Indiana and Ohio! Some of the original locations have been repurposed, and I take a photo when I find one.
Continue reading “Spotted in the wild: another old Village Pantry in Muncie”
It’s surreal to compose an obituary for a church. I wasn’t intimately familiar with Wheeling Methodist Episcopal, but I knew the landmark of rural Delaware County had stood for more than a hundred years in northwestern Delaware County. The resilient building endured challenges like surviving a tornado and resisting threats of relocation and demolition, but all that remains today is a pile of brick and timber.
Continue reading “Wheeling Chapel’s final chapter”
During the 1950s and 60s, AT&T erected tons of microwave relay towers throughout the United States. They were part of the Long Lines network, a transcontinental telecommunications system. Today, the towers’ imposing presence persists: Part of an old central office, one of them is the tallest building in downtown Muncie!
Continue reading “Muncie’s old Long Line tower and office”
Last year, I wrote about NIOIO Estates, an addition in Delaware County with one of the strangest names I’ve ever encountered. The neighborhood’s origins perplexed me every time I passed, but recent insight from a couple friends of this blog shed some light on the mystery.
Continue reading “A return to NIOIO”
Marsh Supermarkets made waves around the midwest in 1966 when it entered the fast-growing segment of convenience stores. By the time it was sold to a private equity firm forty years later, Marsh operated 154 Village Pantries around Indiana and Ohio! The oldest have been repurposed, and I try to take pictures when I run across them.
Continue reading “Spotted in the wild: the first Village Pantry”
Pizza arcades were the ultimate source of entertainment for kids all over America in the 1970s and 80s. Delicious food, captivating animatronics, and the latest games made for a generation of memories!
Chuck E. Cheese and Showbiz Pizza reigned supreme, but my hometown of Muncie didn’t have either. We’d have missed out on the fad if Tex Critter hadn’t moseyed into town.
Many Midwestern cities have streets lined with houses full of familiar features. My hometown of Muncie, Indiana, has a great slate of historic dwellings, but few stand out like a Lustron. From their iconic pastel hues to their sleek, steel panels, the unique homes represent a bygone era’s vision of the future! Believe it or not, five Lustron houses still stand within the city limits.
Continue reading “Muncie’s Lustron legacy”
I’m in a lot of local history groups on social media. Some of the most poignant posts come from people who’ve made the bittersweet realization that all the schools they once attended have been demolished. If that’s all it takes to become a graybeard, I’m well on my way- at least sort of. In 2020, a big chunk of Yorktown Middle School was torn down. A new building occupies the site today.
Continue reading “Yorktown Middle School: A farewell to familiar grounds”
We love our ice cream here in Muncie. Hunnicutt’s and Hum-Dingers have supplied us over the years, not to mention all manner of Milk Houses and Dairy Barns. We could even grab a cone or a cup from a red caboose in the seventies and eighties! It’s hard to believe, but the wayward railcar is still making memories today.
Continue reading “Muncie’s old ice cream caboose”
The unincorporated Delaware County community of DeSoto was platted in 1881. By 1887, the community featured a rail depot, a grain elevator, and a post office. In 1908, Delaware Township built a four-room school to absorb the rural students of districts 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 111. Forty-eight years later, the township trustee met with officials to purchase new land for a modern elementary2.
Continue reading “Delaware Township’s old DeSoto Elementary School”
Ted Shideler 