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Indiana Room at PGTPL, 1120 Stafford Road, Plainfield, IN (2025)

03/03/2025

Behind the Archives Door: David Carter’s Money Box

The Indiana Room archives is fortunate to hold many historical artifacts from Plainfield’s history, which can add so much context to what we know about our town's founding fathers. And if you are familiar with the history of Plainfield, Indiana, you know the name David Carter!

One of the original settlers of Plainfield, David Carter and his wife, Lucinda, came to Indiana from North Carolina in 1822. They settled on a tract of heavily timbered land of about 600 acres, which is now what we know of as the heart of downtown Plainfield.

The Indiana Room was fortunate enough to be gifted the money box that David Carter carried with him on his journey from North Carolina. You can see its battered condition, and perhaps imagine it in the covered wagon, clanking against the other items around it.

While it may not be all that useful for researching ancestor’s lives, it is a wonderful experience to see and touch something that was so important to the settlers of our town. Also pictured is David Carter, himself. (He looks awfully sweet, doesn’t he?)

02/27/2025

Throwback Thursday: Harold Grosskreutz, Plainfield High School educator

Among the notable teachers in the history of Plainfield schools, Mr. Harold Grosskreutz stands out as one of the most beloved and longest serving.

Landing in Plainfield in 1937, Mr. Grosskreutz came from Wisconsin, as a highly recommended vocational agriculture teacher. He also taught several other classes, eventually becoming the chemistry instructor and science department chairman. Additionally, he was a 40-year leader and advocate for youth participating in Hendricks County 4-H.

In 1953, Mr. Grosskreutz helped establish the Indiana Vocational Agriculture Teacher Association and served as an officer for many years. In 1970, he was honored with Plainfield Jaycees’ Distinguished Service Award for his work in the school’s Future Farmers of America program and his 4-H service.

In 1976, he was given the first Unsung Hero Award from the Red Pride Booster Club. Mr. Grosskreutz could be found on the scorer’s bench keeping time at basketball games, riding team and fan buses, keeping score for swimming and wrestling, and running chains for football games, among countless other tasks he gave himself. He also sponsored many senior classes, helping build Homecoming floats, plan proms, and organize graduations. In 1976, Mr. Grosskreutz retired from 4-H, having been cited for longest period of active service. In 1978, he retired from teaching after 41 years.

Harold Grosskreutz died in 1995, a true Plainfield luminary.

Do you have a story to share about Mr. Grosskreutz? We would love to hear them!

Photo 1: Mr. Grosskreutz is pictured in 1953
Photo 2: Mr. Grosskreutz (with his wife, Inez) was Grand Marshal of the 1978 Plainfield Fall Festival
Photo 3: The popular teacher is pictured with Lynn Houston in 1976
Photo 4: Mr. Grosskreutz operates the scoreboard for varsity basketball
Photo 5: Attending his farewell banquet, given in honor of his retirement from Plainfield High School in 1978

02/24/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Local cookbooks

The Indiana Room archives contains a wonderful collection of over 150 local area cookbooks.

Often published as a fundraiser or celebrating a milestone, these culinary gems are typically from a church, a school, an organization, or a family group—all of them featuring beloved recipes from our past.

And these types of cookbooks are always a go-to for when you just need a good recipe for Snickerdoodles or Persimmon Pudding or Chicken & Noodles.

(Or even Bootlegger Beans, Tomato Aspic, Teething Biscuits, Rosy Foam, or Bubbles!)

These books are available to look at in the Indiana Room, so stop on in!
1. Tri Kappa Food and Facts: Plainfield's 50th (1988)
2. Treasured Recipes from the Friends of the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library (2008)
3. Our Favorite Recipes: Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (1996)
4. From a Friend's Kitchen: Plainfield Friends Meeting (1996)
5. Van Buren's Very Best: Van Buren Elementary School (1992)
6. Our Treasured Recipes: St. Susanna Women's Club (1999)
7. Hendricks County Home Economics Clubs Cook Book (1948)
8. Victory Cook Book: Belleville Methodist Church (1943)
9. Favorite Recipes from the Pikes (1979)
10. Family Favorites: Recipes from the family of John A. Church, Sr. (1989)

02/20/2025

It’s time for another TBT Class Reunion! This time it’s the Plainfield High School Class of 1988, who will have graduated 37 years ago this year Enjoy some memorable moments from your senior year, courtesy of the 1988 Silhouettes PHS yearbook.

1: Class officers: Jim Wilson (VP), Rob Jones (Pres.), Jennifer Hickam (Sec.).

2: (top l-r) Julie Kennedy entertains with EXISTENCE; Mike Vaughn was an auditorium crew member; Amy Gossman was Homecoming Queen; (middle) Scott Morris competed at DECA conference; Shelly Dowden and Carolyn Lane are caught by the camera; Greg Mayo talks about cruising; (bottom) Brian Dennison was an auditorium crew member; Lisa Castetter working at Clothes Out Junction; Aaron Arnold acts in "It Happens Every Summer".

3: (top) Tapani Vargas, Powder Puff King, and Steve Cobb, senior cheerleader; Rob Dininger and Jenne Shobe dance at Prom; (middle) Kina Pithoud and Matt Theobald act in It Happens Every Summer; Joe Hammond enjoys Spring Break; David Jordan discusses homework; (bottom) Amy Fanning and Sabrina Bryant work together; Christy Smith and her date enjoy Prom.

4. Top Twenty: (front) Bob Nixon, Jeff Ferrell, Steve Viehe, John Bloomer, Eric Graves, Jim Wilson, Rusty Hughes, Dan McConnell; (rear) Julie Kennedy, Carolyn Klueg, Melissa Loy, Chris Gummer, Lisa Young, Robin Hooton, Amy Elliott, Nicole Crager, Jennifer Zuber, Amy Fanning, Mary Ann Wubbolding, Lori Ping.

5. Senior National Honor Society members: (front) Eric Graves, Rusty Hughes, Jim Wilson, Carolyn Klueg, Jeff Farrell, John Bloomer; (middle) Dan McConnell, Amy Elliott, Jodi Peters, Jennifer Zuber, Julie Kennedy, Lori Ping, Melissa Loy, Dena Welsh; (rear) Bob Nixon, Amy Fanning, Jenny Shobe, Lisa Young, Talisa Zimmerman, Robin Hooten, Steve Viehe.

6. (top) Dena Welsh plays basketball; Richard Reynolds clears a hurdle; Mary Ann Wubbolding waits to set the volleyball; (middle) Travis Shadwick clears the high jump bar; Suzette Reed serves; (bottom) Teresa Jones performs on the balance beam; Rashid Kourany plays tennis; Steve Viehe was Cross Country MVP.

7. (top) Jerry Williams golfs; Amy Gossman and Kelly Legg were the Senior cheerleaders; Sean Atkins awaits his opponent; Donnie Brenneman pins his opponent; Amy Fanning was drum major; (bottom) Kevin Helser golfs; Jeff Wetzel prepares to race; Cross country co-captain Steve Cobb catches some breath.

8. Seniors get ready to graduate: (top) Josh Williams, Jerry Williams, Brian Livingston, Shawn Cooper, Troy White, Jason Castetter, Mike Nay; (middle) Alisia Miller and Marlene Bridges; Mindy Shillings and J.D. Muench; (bottom) Julie Boulware; Allison Clapp, Dena Welsh, Kelly Reardon and Lori LaRoche.

9. Valedictorian Jennifer Zuber and Salutatorian Jeff Farrell.

10. Graduation!

02/17/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Home Remedy “Cures”

In the Do Not Try This at Home Department, locked away in the archives are some old-fashioned “cures” that show just how far doctoring has progressed.

The pneumonia cure was found in the papers of a local Plainfield, Indiana, woman who was born in 1902 and, while its effectiveness may be up for debate, it probably won’t do more harm than make the patient somewhat . . . aromatic.

The smallpox cure (found with some military papers), however, contains foxglove, a common poison used in murder mysteries and the base of the drug digitalis--something we advise against messing with unless you have been professionally trained!

All in all, these two home remedy cures make us thankful for modern medicine.

02/13/2025

Throwback Thursday: Carrie (Trester) Hadley

A few weeks ago, the Indiana Room featured as a Throwback, Horace Hadley, Plainfield, Indiana, artist. His second wife, Carrie Trester West Edmondson Henry Hadley, was a notable person of Plainfield as well.

Born in 1893, in Clay County, Indiana, Carrie’s mother died when she was three. She was adopted by her aunt Ada West. In 1915, she married Roy Edmondson, with whom she had two children. After Roy’s death in 1935, she married first Thomas Henry (who died in 1957) and then Horace Hadley (who died in 1986).

Carrie was a beautician who owned and operated the Henry-Edda Beauty Shop for 65 years. She was a past matron of the Clayton chapter of the Order of Eastern Star, and a 75-year member of Plainfield’s OES.

However, Carrie’s most important legacy is the “Carrie Hadley’s Toys for Children in Need” project, which operated for a few years in the mid-1990s. A prolific sewer, Carrie regularly made dresses and clothes for dolls as a hobby. When she was 100 years old, her friends and family established the Carrie’s Toys project, wherein the community was asked to donate gently used toys (which were cleaned and dressed in new clothes), material for making and upcycling toys, and volunteers to work on the toys. Plainfield responded with a gusto, and over 600 toys were distributed to kids in need.

It’s heartwarming to think of how Carrie brought joy to so many young lives. She passed away in 1995 at 102 years of age. Carrie’s story is one of service, creativity, and compassion, leaving an indelible mark on our community.

Photo 1: Carrie as a young girl plays the piano
Photo 2: Carrie in 1994
Photo 3: Carrie in June, 1995

02/10/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Postcards

As an easy, quick, and inexpensive way for people to communicate, postcards were once the way to go.

The Indiana Room has dozens of “vintage” postcards in both the archives and the photo collection, most from the “golden age of postcards,” 1890 to 1915.

After World War I, demand for postcards decreased, due to increased telephone usage and other economic forces. While many postcards in the collection are “real photo” cards taken locally with a postcard camera at the height of the postcard craze, these three are some of our favorite greeting cards from the collection of lifelong Hendricks County resident Ellen Wood Johnson Beaman.

02/06/2025

Throwback Thursday: Recently discovered Plainfield Methodist Church photos.

For details on the individual images, be sure to read to the end of this post!

As mentioned in last week’s Throwback Thursday, with the acquisition of a digital slide scanner, the Indiana Room staff was able to convert a collection of slides stored in the archives into digital images, then upload them into our photo database for the public to access. The slides were taken by Plainfield resident H. O. Wimsett between 1939 and 1959. Among these were over thirty pictures taken at the Plainfield United Methodist Church, located at that time at 301 South Center Street, Plainfield, Indiana. Here are just a few of them to enjoy.

1) Janet Murphy and Phyllis Murphy stand among the congregants outside the Plainfield Methodist Church. They are wearing matching outfits and the photo is labeled "The Murphy twins, Janet and Phyllis (which is which?)." (April 25, 1948).

2) A crowd gathers outside after the Easter service at the Plainfield Methodist Church. The minister, Rev. Eldon Farmer, stands in the doorway. (March 28, 1948).

3) Congregants gather outside at the Plainfield Methodist Church. (l-r): Judith Groninger, Gloria Groninger, Geneva Groninger (bending down), Kathy Kellum (in red sweater), Paul Burch, Pauletta Burch. (September 28, 1947).

4) Ed Tomlinson (left) points something out to Milo Aiken in front of the Plainfield Methodist Church, (May 1, 1949).

5) Gathered in front of the Plainfield Methodist Church, (l-r): Janet or Phyllis Murphy, Jean Riddle, Phyllis or Janet Murphy (back to camera), Carrie Elizabeth Whicker, Geraldine Whicker. Small girl in front not identified. (April 25, 1948).

02/05/2025

PGTPL Genealogy Club: February 6, 2025 at 1:00pm. McMillan B Meeting Room

TOPIC: Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense Registration Cards: The Largest Census of Women You’ve Never Heard About

After America entered World War I in 1917, the Council of National Defense ordered the establishment of women’s councils as a domestic defense, where they registered over 4,000,000 women to provide services during the war. The data compiled represent the largest forgotten census of American women ever conducted.

This presentation by Amber Oldenburg will introduce attendees to the history of the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense and the registration cards they created. It will cover where to find these records and how to use them in telling the stories of the women in their family history.

Join us!

02/03/2025

Behind the Archives door: Central Academy pennant

Central Academy (1881-1918), a secondary high school, was owned and operated by the Western Yearly Meeting of Friends. Located on the site of the current Central Elementary School (300 block of East Main Street, Plainfield, Indiana), the school offered students a private education experience.

In addition to many photographs of Central Academy through its short history, the Indiana Room has this sports pennant in the archive collection.

01/30/2025

Throwback Thursday: H. O. Wimsett slide collection

Today’s Throwback Thursday focuses on some great portraits that have recently “come to light.” For details on the individual images, be sure to read to the end of this post!

With the acquisition of a digital slide scanner, the Indiana Room staff was able to convert a collection of slides stored in the archives into digital images, then upload them into our photo database for the public to access.
These pictures were taken by Plainfield, Indiana, resident H. O. Wimsett from 1939 to 1959 and are unusual for capturing slices of Plainfield life from that time in full color rather than in black and white. Some of them are so clear they look like they could have been taken yesterday, so enjoy the small selection that follows. We are grateful that Mr. Wimsett identified each slide with on when and where it was taken, and who is in the picture.

1) Harry Spear (1897-1971) smokes a cigarette in front of the Plainfield Methodist Church, 301 South Center Street, 1944. Harry was a postal clerk who was married to Veva Griffin.

2) Margaret Buell and Jules Tileston marry at the Plainfield Friends Church in 1954. The wedding party, left to right: ?, ?, Jules Tileston, Margaret Buell (Margaret Tileston), Barbara Waters (Barbara Buford), ?.

3) Doctor James Stafford (Dr. J. C. Stafford) hugs some of his friends in front of his office on the south side of Main Street in 1939. (l to r): "Smoky" Phillips, Dr. Stafford, Margie Douglas, Martha Sims.

4) Bettie Jansen (Pepper Jansen), in the summer of 1943. Bettie was the daughter of Jane Jansen (Jane Husted) of Plainfield, Indiana. She grew up to marry Charles Acton.

5) Violet Hall and her sons sit with Mary Wimsett on the steps of the Wimsett house at 720 South East Street in May, 1955. Front: Steve Hall (left) and William Hall (Billy Hall). Back: Mary Wimsett (left) and Violet Hall.

6) A snapshot of seven-year-old Thayer Tomlinson, daughter of Edwin Tomlinson and Ruth Tomlinson (Ruth Mills) in April 1952.

01/27/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Plainfield City Directories

Sitting quietly on the shelf in the archives are thirty years’ worth of historical gold.

These are the Plainfield, Indiana, city directories for 1960 through 1990. In the Indiana Room we cannot count the number of times we consult these to answer reference questions, identify family members, pinpoint sites in photographs, or just settle matters of curiosity.

The directories contain alphabetical listings of families residing in Plainfield, usually detailing the members of the family along with their occupations. In addition, there is a “Buyers Guide” section, listing businesses by categories. And perhaps the most useful from a historical perspective is the Plainfield Street Guide, which indexes residents and businesses by street address.

So the next time you think, “Wasn’t there a fabric store in an old church back in the mid-seventies?” give us a call. We can check the directory and tell you it was Quality Fabrics at 201 N. Vine Street.

01/23/2025

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield, Indiana’s Stanley Road in 1959

What a difference 65 years makes! We recently rediscovered this photo of Stanley Road in the Indiana Room archives. Taken in November of 1959, it looks east from what is now the area of Stanley Road and Creekside Lane.

Not only does it show a really cool mid-century car (anyone out there able to identify the make and model?) but a much more rural scene than the current photo captured from Google Street View.

01/20/2025

Behind the Archives door: Coroners' Inquests

One of the unusual items preserved in the Indiana Room Archives is a collection of Hendricks County Coroners’ Inquests. These documents record the investigations into sudden or unexpected deaths, usually those where no attending physician was present. Often included are eye-witness accounts from witnesses. There are two record storage boxes containing sixty years worth of inquests, from 1845 to 1905, in the archives. All about unattended deaths in Hendricks County, Indiana.

A look at the causes of death opens an interesting window into the dangers of life in the last half of the nineteenth century. Sadly, the vast majority of the cases, 25%, were ruled su***de. However, the next largest number, 22%, were the result of trains, most often being struck by one. Relatively few were the result of murder, the mainstay of today’s television forensic specialists. Two poisonings and three stabbings were investigated, along with six gunshot slayings - one of which appears above.

For more information, check out the index to this collection here:https://www.plainfieldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/coroner-inquest-joint.pdf or come on in to the Indiana Room to see the records.

01/16/2025

Throwback Thursday: Horace Hadley, artist

Plainfield, Indiana’s history is replete with the family surname Hadley, but one in particular is being recognized today.

Horace Hadley, lifelong resident and prolific artist, was tapped to design and decorate many Plainfield sites, including the “new” high school in 1931, the Hall Mortuary sign in 1942, and Plainfield’s Carnegie Library in 1947.

Born in Bridgeport, Indiana, in 1895, Horace was an artist from the beginning. As a young soldier in 1918, his post was as artist and designer at Camp Sherman in Ohio. In 1919, he married his first wife, Dora Pike. He attended art school in Detroit, MI, and the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. In 1928, he was commissioned to design the war memorial at Maple Hill, which still stands today.

In 1929, Hadley bought the Tribble building on South Vine Street, and opened his own design studio. In 1931, he was awarded the sub-contract for all painting and decorating at the new high school and in 1947, he redecorated the basement, kitchen and entryway at the Carnegie Library on Center Street.

Horace married Carrie Edmondson Henry, his second wife, in 1958. He was the chairman of the Property Trustees of the Western Yearly Meeting for 30 years, and he belonged to the First Man’s Club, the Plainfield Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion. Mr. Hadley passed away in August 1985.

The Plainfield Library is the fortunate recipient of two of Hadley’s paintings. Considering all of his artistic contributions, Horace Hadley was indeed instrumental in beautifying the village of Plainfield.

Photo 1: Horace in 1975
Photo 2: Group photo of Plainfield’s Last Man’s Club; Horace stands 4th from left
Photo 3: Hadley's painting of the first Plainfield Methodist Episcopal church at 208 S. Mill Street
Photo 4: The World War I memorial at Maple Hill Cemetery
Photo 5: An Indiana landscape painting done by Hadley, which was donated to the Plainfield Library

01/13/2025

Behind the Archives Door: a peek at the collections in the Indiana Room

Anyone who has lived in Plainfield, Indiana, for any amount of time has certainly heard of the 1843 incident involving former president Martin Van Buren and an elm tree. And a muddy National Road.

A short summary is that on June 3, 1843, Martin Van Buren was making his way across Indiana along the very ill-kept National Road. To impress upon the former president how important funding was to improve the conditions of the road, at an appointed location, his buggy was intentionally flipped landing Van Buren in the muddy road. A deal had been made with the stage coach driver, Asa Wright, to provide Van Buren a rough ride along the route. Wright did a good job whipping up his team of horses so that when they got near the intersection of Avon Avenue and Main Street, the horses went one way, the stage went the other way and Van Buren was tossed into the mud.

The elm tree lasted many years, marking the spot of the incident involving President Martin Van Buren. But nature has a way of changing things, and during a violent storm in 1928, the tree was struck by lightning and almost totally destroyed. The remains of the famous elm tree were eventually removed, but saved. The Lions Club erected a large boulder near the spot on the grounds of the Plainfield Friends Church and installed on it the commemorative plaque donated by the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter of the D.A.R.

Through the efforts of the Industrial Arts Department at the Plainfield High School, pieces of the famed elm tree didn’t go to waste. Mr. Schaeffer’s classes made souvenirs from the wood, including ashtrays, gavels, clock cases, small lamps, and candle holders. The souvenirs were sold in the Spot Cash Store and Nutter’s Variety Store.

We are very happy to have some of these hand-carved treasures safely preserved in the archives.

01/09/2025

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield High School teacher Kermit Davis

If you went to Plainfield High School in the 70s or 80s, you surely know the name Kermit Davis. Beloved coach and educator, Mr. Davis was responsible for the term “Red Pride,” which still to this day is the motto of the school.

Born in Ohio in 1925, Mr. Davis was a football star in high school. In 1944, he joined the United State Marines and fought at Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his bravery. In 1950, he was re-activated for the Korean War and was stationed in Puerto Rico until discharged in 1962.

He began coaching while in Puerto Rico, and in 1970, moved to Plainfield, Indiana, with a stellar record of master coaching, ultimately leading the football team to four Mid-State championships. He and his wife, Jean, founded the International Sports Exchange program which arranged international sports competitions, enabling them to visit over 40 countries. He retired from teaching and coaching in 1988.

In 2012, Mr. Davis was a passenger on the inaugural Indy Honor Flight, where veterans were flown to Washington D.C. to visit the war memorials. On January 11, 2020, he passed at 94 years of age.

Do you have Mr. Davis stories to share? We would love to hear them!

Photo 1: A “before and after” composite published in the Hendricks County Flyer in 2014 showing Mr. Davis in uniform and on the Indy Honor Flight. 1945 and 2014.

Photo 2: Mr. Davis coaches with intensity.

Photo 3: Mr. Davis was a popular teacher.

Photo 4: Through the International Sports Exchange, Mr. and Mrs. Davis were able to go to the Soviet Union and meet the superstar gymnast, Nadia Comaneci.

Photo 5: Mr. Davis returns on the Indy Honor Flight.

01/06/2025

Behind the Archives Door: a peek into the collections of the Indiana Room

Today’s "Behind the Archives Door" looks at a World War II ration book. This particular book belonged to Dr. Chester Miller (1876-1968), a Plainfield, Indiana, dentist who had an office in the Knights of Pythias building at 115 West Main Street.

During World War 2, the United States government limited the purchase by civilians of essential goods like food, fuel, and rubber, to make sure enough supplies were available for the military. Because of these shortages, the government set up a system of rationing that would more fairly distribute foods that were in short supply.

Every American was issued a series of ration books which contained removable stamps good for certain items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the right ration stamp. Once a person’s ration stamps were used up for a month, they couldn’t buy any more of that type of food. This meant planning meals carefully, being creative with menus, and not wasting food.

It’s interesting to note that when a Gallup Poll in March 1943, asked Americans, “Do you understand how the food point rationing system works?”, only 53% of men answered “Yes” while 76% of women answered said they did!

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