File - Clarksville Historical Society

Ne V-Ek;tah:er2005
Volume 10 #9
Clarksville Heritage Festival A Success!
Despite Sunday being a drencher, the Clarksville Heritage Festival could be considered a great
success by several telling measures!
The Ursuline Sister's flatboat was the centerpiece of the event, drawing constant crowds all
day Saturday and even into Sunday's downpour. Sister Amelia Stenger and Captain John Cooper
were a delight and gave great tours of the boat complete with exciting stories. The "Help Wanted"
reenactment was again a success and special thanks to all the participants.
There were new faces this year with the Kettle Com couple, Carrie and Mike Grimard, and
also some of our non-profit and civic groups. The Floyd County Historical Society, Jeffersonville
Township Public Library, and the Louisville Zoo were also new this year, joining others who greeted
our visitors with interesting displays and information. Thanks to Al Goodman for a great booth
about his Loop Island Wetlands, and for his enormous help with the 1V coverage Friday morning.
While we are on that subject, thanks to Terry Hood, the Spainhour guys-Jeff, Josh and Danny; Jack
Nokes and the Tom Chapman family for helping to put on quite an early morning production.
Thanks Tom for all the media-help - you sure do a great job!
Ron and Linda Freed's 1935 Chevy Fire truck was a fantastic shuttle between the Cabin and
the Interpretive Center and Car Show. Thanks to Charlie Meyer and crew for the great job on the car
displays. Bud Roach, wife and grandkids did a spectacular job with the BBQ and the evening
participant meal.
The boy scouts from Danville and surrounding areas hiked 5 miles through our event and
presented the Clarksville Historical Society with a Scout Peace Medal plaque. We had 27 schools
represented in the School Challenge and 68 students signed up for the Class Contest. Clarksville
Middle School won the school with the most participation and Community Montessori won the class
with the most attending. The coloring contest was also a good time. $50 Honeybaked Ham gift
certificates were won by Connie Pace, Jeffersonville, and Letty Walter, New Albany.
Thanks to all our participants, artisans, Steve Knowles, Bett Etenohan, and Pam Mattingly.
Thanks also to Brian Kaluzny and staff. Donnie Hansford was a great help as was the Clarksville
Police Department.
Hats off to Bob Popp for specialty consulting .... thanks so much, Bob. The workers in our
booths: Jack Nokes, Don and Martha McDonough, Carolyn Roby, Donna Robbins, Kate Chaney,
Jane and Jerry Sarles, Dawn Stith, Eva Jo Franz, Pat Knight, Sue Balmer, 'Wanda Biggs, Bill
Stodghill, Charlie Ridenour, Jane Blunk, Joannie Oehmann, Rowena and Ed Gullion, Mary
Reynolds and Mary Dolan. Mr. and Mrs. George Weidner are always there to help. Thanks so
much to everyone who helped put this great free community event on! (by Lynda Meyer)
Prison Artifacts Return to
Clarksville
The Historical Society had two donations
this week that led to Indiana Reformatory
artifacts being returned to Clarksville. Don and
Martha McDonough's friend., Lois Ann
Shepard (Mrs. David) Wulf of Fort Myers, Fl.,
has donated a very ornate, inlaid table made by
the prisoners of Prison South. Myrtle Shepard
bought the table from Anna Beyl and left it to
Lois Ann. She felt that the table would be
enjoyed by everyone in Clarksville if it were to
be in the collection of our Clarksville Museum.
Many thanks goes to Lois Ann Shepard
Wulffor the generous donation of the beautiful
table. We will be proud stewards of such a
finepiece that illustrates the skills of the
A call to Lynda Meyer resulted in another
donation to our Museum. Nancy McCartin
Casteel's father, John McCartin, worked at
Colgate' s for 2 months short of 50 years.
While he was an employee he had the
opportunity to buy a piece of furniture that had
been in the Warden's quarters. For $1 he
purchased a mantel and attached bookcases.
The piece is 5 feet tall and 16 feet wide, and is
made in 3 sections. Beading is around the
edges, and a sunburst carving decorates the
front with 2 cameo carvings on either side.
The piece will be dismantled by Charlie
Meyer and Jack Nokes. Hopefully, we can
remove a layer of green paint, and take it down
to the natural wood., which must be beautiful.
Our gratitude goes to N aney 1\fcCartin Casteel
for carrying out the wishes of her parents, John
and Hazel, who wanted the Clarksville
Museum to have this in its' collection. Thank
you, Nancy, for such a generous gift I
(Lynda Meyer)
evine Hommel. LeRoy
Tennis Club :n Clarksville.
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From our roving reporter in North
Carolina:
Memories of Colgate
In Russell Crowe's " breakout" movie,
"The Insiders", there is a scene where he is
standing there in a clandestine meeting off of
Woerner A venue, with the Colgate clock in the
background. Although the background scene
had nothing to do with the movie, which was
based on a true story, I suspect the meeting
never took place in this unlikely location, but
the scene drew my attention and cultivated my
memory. The recent announcement of the
plant's imminent closing came somewhat as a
shock, but I had been hearing the rumor for
several years. The world economy has
changed the business landscape, and I have
been forced to close several of my older
factories as well in order to remain
competitive.
Sometime around the mid-forties my
father led me up a dark stairwell to the top of
the Colgate building. We emerged behind the
face of the 40-foot clock that faced the
Louisville skyline. My eyes probed the open
sky for familiar sights that I could associate
with on the dim Louisville skyline such as a
radio tower high atop the Tyler Hotel, from
which some of my favorite programs were
broadcast. My father began his standard,
rambling dissertation about the usual statistics
of the clock, but I was most interested in the
mechanical workings that were housed in a
small building that set back from the clock
structure. In those days the clock's motion was
powered by weights, which turned the gears,
which in him rotated the shaft that moved the
hands. Periodically the weights had to be
shifted and the gravity force started the process
allover again. The process is not dissimilar to
the motion of many antique grandfather clocks.
Many times the clock would break down and
the lights would need replaced. I was always
quick to point this out as we crossed the 2nd
street bridge coming from Louisville.
Octagon soap was the laundry soap that
was usually placed on the counter top next to
the war "ration stamps" at our house, when I
was very young. My mother would unwrap a
the large bar and peel off thin slices for
submerging into the tub of the Maytag
washing machine, which had a powered
wringer attached to the top. In due time, soap
powder came along and Octagon gradually
disappeared. Heated towers were constructed
at the plant that allowed blown liquid soap to
dry as it descended through the tower. "Super
Suds" became Colgate's banner laundry soap,
and the jingle went, "lots of suds with Super
Suds". Proctor and Gamble, Colgate's rival in
Cincinnati, came out with the detergent Tide
and Colgate followed shortly with Fab. Both
brands survive today but detergent meant the
death of Super Suds.
The Toilet Articles building was built
about 1941 . Somehow the connotation did not
have a good-sounding ring for the times, and
most people referred to it as "T-A" . I
suppose that was easier than calling it "Water
Closet" building, as Jack Parr could attest.
The Clarksville Fire Department would
practice fire simulations from time to time at
the plant. One time there was a major fire in
the night and as the flames were drawn closer
to a huge highly explosive glycerin tank, the
firemen began running for their lives. A local
policeman who had accompanied them to the
scene, grabbed the fire hose and single­
handedly doused the file. My father came
home that day, his ever-present white shirt
darkened with soot, tie loosened, and
proclaimed, "Woody Gilbert saved the town".
As was the custom,there was only a mention
of a fire run in the Evening News.
My father worked at Colgate's for 40
years. Like many others who worked there, he
was tremendously loyal to the company. He
hardly ever missed a day's work and walked to
work when the snow was piled high. During
the '37 flood he slept in a Pullman car next to
(continuedfrom page 3)
the plant. Competitor's products were never
allowed in our house, despite their tempting
jingles and advertisements. "When people went
to work at Colgate's in those days it was where
they stayed throughout their working lives.
They had their own bowling alley, dispensary,
picnics, Christmas parties, and company store.
There was much allegiance between the union
workers and management,who worked
together for mutual goals. The last time I was
in the plant was in 1953 on a seventh grade
tour, but I listened intently to the men who
gathered at our house each weekend and talked
about the happenings at the company.
My son, an actor, who worked on a
movie with Russell Crowe, described him as
arrogant and difficult to work with on and off
the set, and yet director Ron Howard was able
to pull the cast together and make a picture
that won the Academy Award for best picture.
Perhaps the union leaders, management,
and politicians can pull together and at least
keep Colgate a viable operation somewhere in
Southern Indiana.
Mike Abbott Kure Beach,NC
jamesmikea@aol. com
NenMeeting November 9, Wednesday 4:30 p.m. Clarksville Community Center Speaker: Troy McCormick, presenting Rose Island Park and the Indiana Arsenal Bloom's eddy is just below the first
rapid of the Fails. The ear1y sett1ers
availed themselves of this eddy as a
landing place, and made portages from
this landing to Jeffersonville.
The first notable accident in the
recollection of the early settlers was the
killing of David Bloom by the bursting of
a cannon at Bloom's Point, below
Jeffersonville on the 4th of July 1808 .
•••••••••••••
The first fire house was built on Stansifer
Avenue in 1926. The Penn Railroad
donated 2 fire fire trucks, one chemical
truck and one pumper. In 1962 the
department consisted of seven people and
another fire house was built. In 1979 the
original fire station on Stansifer was
replaced with a new building.
•••••••••••••
A federal study after the 1937 flood,
showed that 45 residential structures in
Clarksville were wrecked or gone.
•••••••••••••
Davis Floyd became involved with
Aaron Burr and his plot to establish a
colony on Spanish territory. Floyd was
indicted and found guilty by the territorial
court at a session held in Clark County in
June 1807 for" aiding in setting on foot a
military expedition against. ... ..the King of
Spain" His sentence was 3 hours in jail
and a fine of$10. He was elected clerk of
the House of the Indiana Territory the
following month.
••••••••••••••
In the 1930's, The Seville Tavern was
where Jim Butner's auto storage lot is
now.