The Herald-Argus,
LaPorte's newspaper, began putting local and national news into print
in 1836. The Door Prairie Barn, a bizarre, nine-sided barn house built
in 1878, still stands today and is the last of its kind in the country.
Maple trees planted over one-hundred-and-fifty years ago still line
Michigan and Indiana Avenues and dazzle with color in the fall. But
it's the LaPorte County Courthouse, which has stood for more than one
hundred years, that is the city's most prized architectural
achievement. Designed by Chicago's famous city planner, David Burnham,
the monumental Courthouse stands proudly, with its stained-glass
windows and striking stone gargoyles still intact.
A
sampling of the Herald-Argus archives gives a glimpse into everyday
life in LaPorte during the 1950s and 60s. A reservoir of both the
exceptional and mundane, the various stories reflect changes in the
national landscape and how LaPorteans dealt with these changes in their
daily lives:
ROCKET LANDS ON GOLF COURSE -September 23, 1954
A guided rocket, coming from an unknown source, slammed into a golf
course in nearby Hamlet. The operator of the golf course, Clem Hall,
hid the rocket for almost a week before the authorities learned of the
situation. According to Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Stegall, commander of
the KOP, it was "not a part of any army missile and it [was] not a
research object."
ODD DISAPPEARANCE - March 6, 1956
Police are looking for Erma Musgrave, 39, who disappeared from her home
after withdrawing $500 from a local bank. Neighbors saw her boarding a
South Bend-bound train at 11am yesterday. Some relatives theorized that
Mrs. Musgrave might be traveling to Winamac, since she'd recently
spoken of her two children buried there.
LOAN COMPANY HEIST - July 11, 1957
A lone bandit robbed the Local Finance corporation at gunpoint, forced
two female employees into a back room, and escaped with an estimated
$200.
STOLEN CHANGE - January 14, 1959
John Jonas, 20, was arrested at his home last night in connection with
the Sunday night theft of approximately $10 in change from two game
machines at the Automatic Laundry.
LITTLE MISS VALENTINE - January 27, 1959
Debby Quinn from LaPorte has been elected America's Valentine girl for
1959. Debbie, whose seven-hour heart operation and subsequent recovery
was recorded in a hour-and-half film broadcast nationally on the CBS
"Conquest" series, will reign over the 1959 Heart Fund campaign. On
Tuesday, February 3, Debbie will appear in a White House ceremony where
Mrs. Eisenhower will officially crown her.
PILLS SURVIVOR - November 28, 1960
Clarence Erich Kress, 47, survived a two-day "nap" induced by an
overdose of sleeping pills. Kress snoozed peacefully on his back for
nearly 23 hours in a field and was discovered by a hunter.
SOCIETY MURDER - January 14, 1961
Fannie Sommerfield, a prominent citizen in LaPorte society, was found
murdered in her home. The 92-year-old woman was severely beaten with a
wine bottle, though no money or items were taken from the home. The
primary suspect in the case never served time, due to a number of
unfortunate circumstances.
HOLY VENTRILOQUIST - November 13, 1961
Reverend Lawrence J. MacAllen served the community of LaPorte for more
than twenty-five years with the help of 'Gospel Pete,' a ventriloquist
dummy, during his services.
BURNING HOUSE - December 31, 1962
The Salvation Army and private citizens teamed up today to help the
nine person John B. Miller family who lost their home in a fire. All
the furniture and the clothing were lost in the sudden blaze with
completely gutted the inside of the house. The LaPorte community
rallied to help the family rebuild their lives.
FISH LAKE DROWNING - July 6, 1964
What should have been an entertaining holiday weekend for five boys
from a Catholic parish in Chicago came to a tragic halt late Saturday
afternoon when one of them, Leonard Stasi, 14, lost his life drowning
in lower Fish lake.
AUTO THRILL SHOW - July 1, 1964
The Johnny King Daredevils, an auto thrill team, displayed seemingly
impossible skills at speeds that push both men and machine to the
limits of endurance. Cars careened off rampways and travelled hundreds
of feet balanced precariously on two wheels at speeds most would
consider unsafe on all four tires.
RUNAWAY BROTHERS - July 8, 1964
Two 15-year-old brothers were reported in fair condition at a Columbus,
IN, hospital following an accident just outside the city. The two
youths were the subject of a state-wide police search after they locked
their mother in the basement, stole her purse and took the family car
without her permission.
MODEL T TRIP - July 16, 1964
Two young LaPorte adventurers made a trip to San Francisco for the GOP
national convention driving a 1923 Model T Ford. The 2000-mile journey
took eleven days for the truck that topped out at thirty miles per
hour. Upon reaching the convention, the boys helped out doing odd jobs
for the Barry Goldwater campaign committee.
EXPERIMENTAL BALLOON CAPTURED - July 31, 1964
A balloon carrying 'several thousand dollars' worth of instruments and
a possibly deadly charge of explosives was lassoed on a farm near
LaPorte. The blimp-shaped experimental balloon, about 50 feet long and
15 feet in diameter, was one of three that broke looks from mooring at
Fort Wayne where they were being used for air pollution control
experiments.
BOY WINS FLOWER ARRANGING CONTEST - August 21, 1964
Flower arranging, long considered a feminine talent, is beginning to
attract boys, as a ten-year-old lad walked off with the 4-H
championship in the miscellaneous arrangements division. Hamilton
shrugged off the applause and said he "just stuck some weeds in a
container."
WOMEN WRESTLERS - August 15, 1964
Rita Crawford, a 155-pound wrestler, was awarded the Midwest
championship women's wrestling trophy at the 1964 LaPorte County fair.
Miss Crawford tangled with 242 pound Fifi LaRue in the final bout out
the elimination tournament, though the real climax of events came in
the "battle royal" featuring five of the women who'd wrestled
throughout the week.
PLANE CRASH DEATHS - July 2, 1966
A prominent young LaPorte businessman and his teenage companion were
killed when their light plane crashed and burned in a hayfield near the
LaPorte municipal airport. An airport employee said the plane made one
pass over the runway at an altitude of about 20 feet. The aircraft then
went into a forty to fifty degree climb, when the engine apparently
stalled. The plane burst into flames as it hit the ground.
THREE WOMEN DISAPPEAR - July 6, 1966
Three young Chicago-area women went missing at a local beach. When last
seen, the girls were climbing into a motorboat with three unknown men.
The women had left their homes early Saturday and expected to be back
late that day. There were no reports of three men being missing.
WHIRLPOOL FACTORY STRIKE ENDS - July 11, 1966
LaPorte's industrial giant, Whirlpool, went back into production after
an eighty-one day strike. "We have had a long shutdown and we are all
happy to get back to work," the plant's general manager reported. Mayor
Thomas E. Boyd and Police Chief Richard McIntyre acted as mediators in
the negotiations.
FIRST BLACK POLICE OFFICER HIRED - December 5, 1967
The board of public words and safety today hired the first Negro police officer in LaPorte's history...
LOCAL BOY WOUNDED IN VIETNAM - December 6, 1967
Thanksgiving started off as a special day for the Barden family as they
heard a Thanksgiving message from their son in Vietnam broadcast on a
local radio station. So they found it hardly believable that night when
they received word that their son had been wounded in the war,
requiring the amputation of his left leg.
BOBBY KENNEDY COMES TO TOWN - May 6, 1968
"I do not support, and have never supported, the idea that we should
withdraw unilaterally, but I ask, why should a boy from LaPorte be
drafted to fight in Vietnam?" Police estimate that 2000 to 2500 people
packed the LaPorte courthouse square for the campaigning senator, who
arrived with press buses and all the action of a Kennedy-style
campaign.
Salle referred to the trail's clearing as 'LaPorte,' or 'The Door.' This door, shared between the Indian nations and the French explorers, is hidden from modern LaPorte, but its spirit persists: portions of State Street overlap the old trail. It would be more than one-hundred-and-fifty years before Europeans built permanent settlements in LaPorte.
In 1835, the city of LaPorte officially incorporated and was opened for business. The following decade saw the construction of the Midwest's first medical school, LaPorte University (later called LaPorte Medical School). Slowly, the town transformed from an outpost in the Middle West to a governed town of 5,000 people.
