“Good, better, best. Never let it rest! Until the good is the better and the better is the best!” That cheerful motto was painted on the wall of the gym at Yorktown Elementary, but it never helped me conquer the president’s physical fitness tests for pull-ups. Two decades later, though, it became central to my understanding of three Indiana courthouses designed by A.W. and E.A. Rush.
Continue reading “The Fulton County, Indiana Courthouse (1896-)”
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: its antennas have been removed, but one looks over a neighborhood just outside Frankfort.
Continue reading “Frankfort’s old Long Line tower”
I’m not sure what role the cockles of my heart play in my everyday life, but they’re certainly warmed whenever I see an old school repurposed into something new. It’s been more than thirty years since students walked its halls, the old Chesterfield Grade School was repurposed to house the town’s police department and civic center around the turn of the century. I love it! Cockles, consider yourselves warmed.
Continue reading “Chesterfield’s school still serves a civic purpose”
AT&T built thousands of microwave relay towers as part of its Long Line communications network. Although they haven’t been used as part of it in nearly forty years, many towers remain standing across Indiana. One looms over a bowling alley in Lebanon.
Continue reading “Lebanon’s old Long Line tower”
Center Township’s District 6 schoolhouse is one of Hancock County’s oldest institutions. Known as Forest Academy in 1860, the building was home to the first county teacher’s association1! Its replacement was built in 18892 in the “Woodbine District3.” Eventually, residents and patrons began referring to the place as the “Independent” or “Independence” school.
Continue reading “Center Township’s Independence schoolhouse in Hancock County”
Two rural schools nestled in the heart of the Rush County countryside are stark studies in contrast. The weathered tower of the Washington Township Public School in Raleigh is a sad reminder of the ebb and flow of rural life. A stone’s throw away, the Center Township Grade & High School in neighboring Mays stands as a beacon of hope and renewal.
Continue reading “Resilience and renewal at the old school in Mays”
AT&T’s Long Line tower at Etna Green was built in 1956 or 19571. It rises to a height of 333 feet above the rural Indiana countryside2.
Continue reading “Etna Green’s old Long Line tower”
Last November, my mom and I found ourselves hurtling through the countryside chasing old Long Line towers in Northern Indiana. As we zoomed toward Angola from LaGrange, a weathered schoolhouse caught my eye. I fumbled with my trusty Lumix for a shot, but it wasn’t until we pulled into a Love’s Travel Stop that I got a second chance at a decent picture.
Continue reading “The mystery chapel of Silver Lake”
The concrete Long Line tower east of Goshen is another of ATT’s structures that dates to 1950. Built as part of the company’s first transcontinental microwave route from New York to Chicago, it’s 26 feet square1 and rises 133 feet above the hillside2.
Continue reading “Goshen’s old Long Line tower”
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”