Hamilton County Business Magazine October/November 2022

Oakley

Mike Corbett

CREATIVE

Bridget Gurtowsky

CORRESPONDENTS

Chris Bavender

Ann Craig-Cinnamon

John Cinnamon

Samantha Hyde samantharhyde@gmail.com

Patricia Pickett pickettwrites@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTORS

David Heighway heighwayd@earthlink.net

Cari Sheehan cari.sheehan@btlaw.com

Judith Wright jw3@iupui.edu

Judith Wright

The Post-COVID Staffing Challenge

For employers, communication is key to attracting and retaining talent

Last year, employers experienced a huge increase in employee turnover as millions of workers headed for the exits to pursue better pay and benefits and, for many people, more flexible work arrangements. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported nearly 48 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in 2021 at a rate approaching 4 million a month.

Originally thought to be a tem porary trend, the “Great Resig nation” has continued well into 2022. Even in summer months, when ‘quit-rates’ are historically lower, statistics show a steady rate of employee turnover in nearly all industries.

Workers obviously seek new posi tions to find a significant increase in income and benefits. Indeed, a recent Gallup poll showed pay and benefits as the top motivat ing factor in accepting a new job. However, a close second is the desire to find a position that improves work-life balance.

Throughout the pandemic, numerous studies showed on-site workers expe rienced stress, burn-out and a sense of being underappreciated by employers. So far this year, nearly 1.7 million U.S. healthcare workers have quit their jobs. In a survey of healthcare professionals who had recently left jobs, 28% cited burnout as the primary reason.

Job-hopping

At the same time, many employees came to realize they could work produc tively at home while enjoying more flex ibility in personal and family consider ations. And they’re not willing to give up that flexibility—more than half of workers surveyed say they would con sider quitting if forced to return to the office full-time. When employers started calling workers back to the office, many

individuals opted to pursue work-fromhome alternatives that weren’t available in the pre-COVID job market.

Ample openings across the job market allowed a significant number of work ers to consider career interests that were previously harder to attain. Pew Research found that nearly 53% of U.S. adults who quit their jobs in 2021

cited difficulty in keeping employees as a reason to cut store hours during the week to a 7 p.m. closing time.

Higher wages for nearly everyone

A recent study by ADP Research re ported that workers who switched jobs over the past two years experienced the biggest pay raises. The study found that average monthly earnings were up nearly 6.8% over 2019 pay. Across the U.S., wages have increased just over 10% for lower-paying jobs, driven mostly by pay levels needed to attract new hires.

switched to a new occupation or field of work. In younger workers, 61% reported changing to a new type of work. In the Gallup poll, individuals ranked the abil ity to work in a career of their choice as a top-three factor in their job search. Government workforce data shows the resignation trend has impacted a few industries the most: retail; accommoda tion and food service; health care and social assistance; and transportation and warehousing. Efforts by businesses in these categories to scramble to fill openings have resulted in a continuing cycle of job-hopping by workers.

Difficulties in filling jobs in the restau rant and retail industries have driven some businesses to reduce hours of operation. Earlier this year, McDonald’s reported its restaurants had reduced operating hours by 10% nationwide due to worker shortages. Similarly, JCPenney

Younger workers have benefitted most from the job-switching movement. The ADP report found that Gen Z and Millennial workers scored wage increases aver aging between 9 and 13%. Biggest gains were reported by two-wage-earner house holds in which both found better paying jobs.

The overall wage adjustment has also resulted in higher wages for employees who stay in their existing jobs. Employ ers across industries have offered work ers incentives to stay in place. In addition to upticks in pay, many employers are offering flex-time, hybrid work arrange ments, and additional paid time off.

Promotions are also on the rise

Companies are keenly aware that em ployees are open to job switching. When faced with an outflow of workers, many employers have resorted to promoting valued employees as a means of retain ing desired talent. In practice, compa nies are opting to prematurely ad vance solid-performing, high-potential individuals who otherwise would not be considered ready for promotion.

Nearly 48 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in 2021 at a rate approaching 4 million a month.

As job positions are vacated, opportu nities are presenting for existing work ers to move up within their current organizations. For front-line supervisor positions, employers often view inter nal promotion as a preferred source for candidates, finding the typical 8-12% pay increase a good value compared to the cost of recruiting from outside the organization. In the current race for talent, betting on a known performer is an easy choice.

Promoting less-experienced and lessmature workers into managerial and more senior roles likely presents a challenge for companies. Data shows that workers don’t necessarily stop looking at other opportunities after getting promoted. Some view the new position as simply a higher place from which to hop. For the workers who stay, companies will need to invest in train ing and coaching to bring the younger talent along at an accelerated rate.

Checked out

The tough reality is that many employ ers are still left with a staff shortage, particularly in the hardest hit indus tries. Reliance on a shallow pool of employees has resulted in a parallel trend of burned-out, unmotivated and disengaged workers. Some individu als remain on the job out of a sense of loyalty to the business. Others stay because they have been unsuccessful in attempts to job-hop. Some workers stay simply out of apathy.

A disengaged employee characteristi cally performs at a baseline level with the minimum contribution required to meet the job expectations. They frequently pull-back from team par ticipation and prefer to work alone, often not speaking up or contributing toward addressing or solving problems. Co-workers feel the productivity strain, often referring to disengaged employees as ‘checked out,’ or ‘slackers.’

Unfortunately, in the current market, employers are reluctant to address the performance drain caused by disen gaged workers. However, when produc tivity demands are strained, an em ployer that allows some workers to drift along without contributing on par to peers usually experiences a continuing downward spiral in workplace morale.

Tips for success in the race for talent

The competition for employees is pro jected to continue well into next year. So, here are five tips for navigating through the demands of the current job market.

• Communicate with employees— both new and existing—about the company’s culture and goals. Discuss how each individual can contribute, succeed and advance. Aligning the employer’s goals with workers’ aspira tions is key to retention.

• Evaluate pay and adjust salaries as necessary to remain competi tive with the market. Falling under pay rates for the market will lead employees to look around.

• Establish and maintain methods to develop the talent pool. Pro vide programs and opportunities for workers to develop skills of all types, both hard and soft. Implement a regular process to help employees gauge their performance.

• Recognize that work-life balance is a primary factor in employee satisfaction. Identify ways to allow for flexibility where possible, con sidering the business, the customer and the product.

• Build a relationship based on respect and trust. Communicate clearly with employees, and then trust them to fulfill their responsi bilities. Workers cite micro-man agement as a top impetus to look for work elsewhere. HCBM

Judith Wright is an assistant clinical professor of business law and Mosaic Faculty Fellow at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business at IUPUI.

Digital Dereliction

The Erosion of Ethics in Social Media

Has social media lowered people’s abil ity to differentiate between right and wrong? Social media is a virtual com munity that allows users to create and disseminate ideas and content without strict filters, rules, or standards. Social media does not carefully check cre dentials, identities, or review content prior to posting. Platforms review content only after posted and if turned in as inappropriate. People can also post content under false names, fake pictures, fake voices, and other items of anonymity, thereby creating a fake online persona that does not exist in the real world. People hide behind their fake online personas to distribute con tent that is demeaning, de grading, and offensive. This activity of unfiltered content brings with it side effects, the worse being the destruction of human ethics.

Ethical Crimes of Social Media

The average human-being is addicted to social media to the point that they cannot live without it. Most people spend 3 to 5 hours a day on social media, on the low end. This includes watching vid eos, posting comments, read ing other people’s posts, and scrolling through the various social media platforms for the latest news and gossip. Due to the increased usage of social media, ethical crimes have been on the rise in the past 5 to 10 years, including hacking, cyber-bullying, sex ting, social injustice issues, privacy violations, electronic thefts, catfishing, and personal defamation. Government and corporations are at tempting to combat the influx of ethical

crimes by spending billions of dollars to try and control the flow of informa tion on social media. However, social media cannot be easily controlled since it is a private enterprise, so the success of controlling the information will be hard to accomplish.

Human Traits of Unethical Behavior

Studies have shown that people use social media to feed their egos and narcissistic traits, as well as fulfill a desire to gain emotional sympathies

on social media. The anonymity allows a “cloak and dagger” approach where people can justify unethical behavior by pretending it was not them. People will post items that hurt others and do things that are unethical, and poten tially illegal, because to the person it is a fake online world. This wipes out any feelings of guilt associated with the unethical behavior and conceals the person from any legal action since they post as anonymous. Most people on social media communicate and behave differently online compared to real life with family and friends to protect their identity. Social media has created a world where there are no ethics and no accountability for wrong ful actions. There is no guilt, no remorse, and rarely justice for victims. It is a dangerous world that is growing more rapidly than anyone could have ever imagined.

Unethical Examples

Let us look at the two most common examples of un ethical behavior on social media: (1) Invasion of Pri vacy; and (2) Catfishing.

Invasion of Privacy

from others. Psychologists suggest these traits come from a lack of selfconfidence or the need to belong. However, the majority of people hide behind the fake identities when posting

Every individual has the right to have their per sonal life hidden from others and kept private. This includes all informa tion of a personal nature such as health informa tion, sexual information, and personal data. Posting, stealing, or using this information on social media without the consent of the owner is a crime. The crimes can range from cyber-bullying to defamation. Another

Most people spend 3 to 5 hours a day on social media, on the low end. This includes watching videos, posting comments, reading other people’s posts, and scrolling through the various social media platforms for the latest news and gossip.

privacy concern is when individu als share confidential information related to their job online, such as trade secrets, internal documents, or other confidential work informa tion. Posting private work informa tion can amount to a breach of your employment agreement or company policies. It could even amount to, in some circumstances, insider trading. It would depend on the information posted. And, once information is posted online it cannot be removed, thereby making it have a long-last ing and drastic effects on the victim.

Catfishing

Catfishing is the process of lur ing someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona. This normally occurs when a person creates a fake online profile, usually of the other sex, and connects with someone online in a romantic way. The roman tic relationship builds over time from online conversation to phone calls. Individuals who create the online fake profiles to catfish someone will even go as far as using voice altering mechanisms during phone calls and blurring out or creating a persona for FaceTime calls or other virtual meetings. Most catfish schemes seek to extract money or embarrass a high-profile celebrity that falls for the catfish scheme. Netflix and other television platforms have created docuseries on famous catfish schemes. For example, Netflix recently released Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist , the story of former Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te’o, who was catfished by Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Ronaiah pretended to be Manti’s girlfriend Lennay Kekua. It has been more than nine years since the Manti Te’o catfishing transpired, and it is still a topic of conversation and source of embarrassment, thereby proving the long-lasting effects of the unethical behavior.

Solutions

So how do we combat the erosion of ethics caused by social media? How can ethics and respect be put back into human behavior and content posted on social media? How do we stop fake profiles, catfishing, and overall fake behavior?

There are two simple answers to these questions: “If you would not do it in person, do not do it online” and “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” Putting humanity back into online behavior is vital to maintain ing an ethical society. This can only be accomplished if people take per sonal responsibility for their actions and posts online. However, personal responsibility will not happen over night, so until this can be accomplished people need to learn to protect their identities and confidential information. People need to post positive content and not contribute to the ethical erosion. Most important ly, people need to remember that real-life is more important than social media. Real-life should be the everyone’s focus and not the fake online personas. HCBM

Hamilton County

Hearts

Misson Statement:

To inspire hope and improve the quality of life for heart patients and their families through ongoing peer-to-peer support, education and advocacy.

Cari Sheehan is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Business Law and Ethics at Indiana University, The Kelley School of Business – Indianapolis. She is also a local attorney and frequent seminar speaker focusing her practice on legal ethics, tort, and criminal law.

This article should not be interpreted as providing legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own lawyer on any specific legal questions you may have concerning your situation.

Cover Story

New advertising platform developed in Hamilton County has global implications

By Ann Craig-Cinnamon

new platform for advertising that melds the digital and the physical world is set to go global and it origi nates from right here in Hamilton County. In the future when you shop, you may not notice much of a difference, but it likely will affect your shopping habits.

First, some background; As recently as 2017 Brent Oakley was looking for a

way to keep his customers engaged and entertained and, at the same time, in form them of products and promotions at his first business, Prime Car Wash, which has several locations around Indianapolis including Noblesville. He says one of the most important things to him was making sure his guests had a great experience and that when they walked into the location the energy was right. “We did that a lot of different ways, mainly around music.

We always had this upbeat music sys tem going. I also wanted to talk to them in real time, have a true voice talent speaking or whatever it is that I thought of in the moment such as congratulat ing a local high school or something that I needed right now and there was nothing like that.”

What he came up with, along with his partner Adam Ritz who has a radio background, was creating something similar to an in-house radio station

(L to R) Brent Oakley, Daisy Adams, Alexa Drew

complete with music and interspersed with commercials about products and sales at the car wash. Oakley says it not only made the environment better but they started selling more products and customers became more informed.

“The entire thing just clicked,” he says adding that they weren’t the first to start a music and messaging system that is location-based but they were the first to make it streaming and dynamic and changing at all times. “If it was raining we could change it off; if it was snowing we could change it off; or if something big happened. It was almost like we had our true own radio station whereas most location-based businesses didn’t have that opportunity and were stale and stagnant and played the same thing over and over again.”

Their in-store streaming was so successful that they decided to use it as a prototype to offer to other businesses around the country. And, thus, Vibenomics was born.

Phenomenal Growth

As with anything new, there were equipment and technology issues to overcome, business plans needed to be tweaked and investment capital had to be raised. But just five years later, Vibenomics is in 7,000 locations nationwide and reaches more than 200 million unique visitors every month.

If you shop at Kroger, you likely hear it because Vibenomics is in all loca tions, which makes Kroger their biggest customer. They are also in thousands of convenience stores and other locations

as well. To date more than $30 million in investment capital has been raised, mostly from local investors.

Seeing more opportunity, Vibenomics then began tracking sales data in their partner retail outlets. They created software to match up the timing of the in-store ads with actual purchases.

Using Pepsi as an example of a company that advertises in-store to push its product, Oakley says they can track when customers in a store heard a Pepsi announcement with an increase in sales of the product at around that same time, thus proving that the instore commercial caused impulse buys and was working.

Oakley says it is good for everyone involved. “So, we work with Kroger and Kroger’s partners are able to reach the consumer when they are making a purchasing decision so it’s good for the advertiser. And we can measure it to let them know if it’s working. It’s good for Kroger because they’re selling more of that product. And it’s good for the consumer because the experience is better and we’re not interrupting them when they’re driving their car wanting to listen to music but we are making suggestions when they’re actually in a position where they want to buy products,” he says.

Identified a Need

Oakley and his company took what they learned from Vibenomics and identified a hole in the advertising marketplace. Up to now, there was not a one-stopshop for advertisers to be able to buy all forms of advertising in a physical retail location. Those forms of advertising would in clude what Vibenomics and similar companies do with audio ads but also digital signs, kiosks and other sales collat eral you might see in a retail store. So they filled that void with In-Store Marketplace (ISM) a brand new company that launched in June.

Oakley describes ISM as agnostic software that allows companies

with a product they want to sell to have different ways to advertise in a physical store. “For instance, Vibenomics, a publisher of music and audio, is one form of advertising, but then you have digital displays and kiosks, all of these different visual, digital assets that are publishing or advertising something,” he says, adding that the problem has been that it was difficult for advertisers to know what digital assets were available in all the thousands of locations around the country. “So you had Kroger and Publix and Circle K’s and 7-Elevens in all these different places that use different providers of technology; different screen providers; different audio providers, like Vibenomics, out there all fragmented,” Oakley explains. Now with In Store Marketplace there is one central location, a single multimedia platform, where advertisers and ad agencies can go to buy all forms of advertising in retail outlets.

Oakley says for the first time this breakthrough software allows advertis ers to access all inventory to create a campaign. “So now there is one central location where all branded agencies can come to it and say what is all the inventory out there? And we want to buy something in this demographic, in this region, and we don’t care if it’s Kroger or Circle K, we just know we want these demographics with our products sitting on the shelf. It might be a mix of some display or audio but we control the in ventory for all location-based businesses for all advertisers and agencies to see,” he says adding that the platform also al lows instantaneous uploading of imaging so the campaign can begin immediately.

The Future is Bright

The launch of ISM has been success ful but is still evolving and is currently running in what Oakley calls “stealth”. But the implications are immense. “It could quickly go global because Walmart and Kroger and Circle K are all global companies. So once it works in the U.S., it’s simply flipping the switch to run all over the world,” says Oakley adding, “I think that we are bridging the gap from the virtual world to the true physical world. And I believe that people are still creatures of still wanting to go into stores.” HCBM

(L to R) Matt Lurton, Brent Oakley, Carl Schallig

Thank you to our Legacy Partners:

Upcoming EventUPCOMING EVENTS

THE STATE OF THE SCHOOLS LUNCHEON

Join us for our annual State of the Schools luncheon featuring our Noblesville Schools Superintendent Dr. Daniel Hile. This will be Dr Hile's first 'State of' report and we are excited to learn more about his vision for Noblesville Schools. Prior to Dr Hile's presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to view student's STEM projects and enjoy student musicians.

Hosted at the Noblesville Schools new Community Center.

October 26, 2022 from 11AM – 1PM

Noblesville School Board Candidate Forum

Hosted by the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce, please join the 2022 Noblesville School Board Candidates for a forum to hear each candidates' plans and viewpoints for Noblesville Schools. Forum moderated by retired Judge and current County Council member, Steve Nation

October 24, 2022 from 6:30PM – 8:00PM

Trivia Night @ Big Woods

Trivia Night is back! Trivia Night is a crowd favorite, and we are excited to be putting it back on your calendar in 2022. Join us for a night of networking and fun and test your knowledge with some great people. Our Young Professionals Network is proud to host this event for EVERYONE!

October 19, 2022 from 5PM – 7PM

Advancing Noblesville Awards Dinner

Recognizing the Businesses & Individuals who contribute so much to our city and combined success. November 17, 2022 at Harbour Trees Golf Club

Sponsored in part by: & Mayor Chris Jensen

For more great events, membership information, and how you can get involved in the Noblesville Chamber Networks scan the QR code! Visit NoblesvilleChamber.com today and don’t forget to register for an upcoming event and network with us.

Chamber

Dr. Daniel Hile, Superintendent, Noblesville Schools

Serving Northern Hamilton County

Our Next Luncheon

Our October luncheon will be a moving one! We will be having a Service Organization Panel full of nonprofit members. They will be there to share about their organizations and to let members know how we can be supporting them! We will hear from Angels' Attic, Hope Family Care Center, Mama's Cupboard, Inc., HAND Inc., Jackson Township Trustee's Office, Sheridan Rotary, and Cicero Kiwanis Club. This meeting is scheduled for 10/13 from 11:30 - 1 pm at Beck's Hybrids (Indiana Room). We hope to see you all there to support our neighbors!

Mark

Calendar

H&L Pool Managemnet 877-330-POOL (7665) PO Box 576 Noblesville, IN 46061 hlpools.com

Luncheons the second Thursday of every month.

October 13 - 11:30 am - 1 pm Service Organization Panel Beck’s Hybrids

November 10 - 8 - 9:30 am

Corey Sylvester - Edward Jones Red Bridge Park Comm. Building

December 8 - 11:30 am - 1 pm

Annual Bottle Auction United Animal Health

Please check the Chamber website and follow us on Facebook for the most up to date calander. nhccoc.org

@NHCChamber

NORTHERN

COUNTY

COMMERCE

Communities Wor king Together

Byron Street Cicero,

OCTOBER

Chamber Meet Up

E F Marburger Fine Flooring

October 6, 2022 4:30pm – 6:30pm

OWN Women’s Summit

FORUM Events Center

October 13, 2022 8:30am – 4:00pm

Caffeinated Conversation

Forté October 18, 2022 8:00am – 9:00am

State of the City Carmel Ritz Charles October 26, 2022 11:00am – 1:00pm

Upcoming Events

NOVEMBER

OWN Tactical Workshop

Prairie View Golf Club

November 10, 2022 8:30am – 9:30am

Caffeinated Conversation

IKEA

November 15, 2022 8:00am – 9:00am

Mental Health First Aid

Hamilton County Community Foundation

November 15, 2022 8:00am – 4:00pm

State of the City Fishers Embassy Suites by Hilton November 17, 2022 4:30pm – 7:30pm

DECEMBER

Member Orientation

COhatch Carmel

December 1, 2022

8:30am – 9:30am

December Luncheon

Ritz Charles

December 6, 2022

11:00am – 1:00pm

Eggs & Issues

The Bridgewater Club

December 9, 2022

7:30am – 9:00am

Welcome All of Our New Members!

Click on the New Member Company Names Below and Visit their OneZone Member Directory Contact Information.

101 Beer Kitchen - Carmel

Andrew Porter Custom Clothiers Carmel Runners Club

CF Bank Cinnaholic CityBird Tenders

Community First Bank of IndianaLoan Production Office

Community First Bank of Indiana - Westfield Distinct

Elevated Exteriors

Ellie Mental Health

Forté Orthopedic Research Institute

Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics Carmel Great Deals Media

Green District Hallmark Orthodontics

HAND Inc.

Hotel Equities - Home2 Suites by Hilton Carmel Indianapolis

Indiana Restoration & Cleaning Services

Legacy Sports Group

Loyal Leash - Hetzer Design & Innovations

Noblesville Schools Education Foundation Peterman Brothers

PointBlank Nutrition

Porter Roofing & Restoration LLC

The Sterlyn Group

The Signature Group Events

V3 Companies

WesBanco Bank

Click Here Now and Visit the OneZone Member Directory

Hamilton County History

he Lacy Block has been a focus of the north side of the square since 1888. Over the years, many people and organiza tions have interacted with the struc ture in one form or another. Much of the early history has been forgotten or misinterpreted. Change will soon be happening, so it’s worth taking a look at the original builder and the con struction of the building.

Albert H. Lacy (1842-1900) was a third-generation Hamilton County resident. His grandfather, Charles Lacy, had been one of the first set tlers to arrive in 1819. Albert married Nancy Klingensmith and they had two children. Among other things, Albert served on the County Fair board and the City Council. Interestingly, he never occupied a space in the Lacy Building. He was a farmer and a merchant with a store on the east side of the square.

Noblesville’s Lacy Building

David Heighway

In 1887, a large part of the north side of the square was purchased by India napolis businessman Pierre Gray. He was the son and private secretary of Governor Isaac Gray and had come to Noblesville to invest in the gas wells being found. Part of the section that he purchased was marked as “dilapidated” on the 1883 Sanborn map and the news paper said that it was nick named “Rat Row” or “Buz zards Roost”. The buildings were evidently demolished as the 1887 Sanborn map has several blank spaces, in cluding the entire lot where the Lacy building would be. Pierre Gray sold Lot 6 of Block 8 to Albert Lacy for $5,000 in May of 1888. It was probably more of an

exchange of property as Lacy sold 106 ½ acres of farmland to Gray for $6,100 at the same time.

Construction on the new building started immediately, with excavations started on the basement while brick was being made. John Durflinger was contracted to be the builder. The brick was being made by James Lawson of the Eller and Lawson Company on Federal Hill and the first load of bricks was delivered in early June. By Octo ber the building was mostly finished. Furniture dealers Lake & Boaz moved into the eastern first-floor storefront, which had the street number of 14 East Logan. Like many nineteenth-century furniture stores, they also sold cof fins and were funeral directors. Griffin Brothers Hardware had opened their store on the west side of the first floor, which had the street number of 16, in February of 1889.

Since then, the downstairs tenants have been:

848 Logan - Hardware Store

George & Thomas Griffin – 1889-1909

S. F. Hardy – 1910-1913

E. E. Polk – 1913

William C. Griffin – 1913-1934

C. W. Howell – 1934-1941

Walter A. Sharpe – 1941-1954 [below as Kirk’s Hardware]

Roy and Arwana Kirk – 1954-1977

David & Jane Kingsolver – 1977-2002

Bill & Carrie Prater – 2002-2022

856 Logan Street

Lake & Boaz / J. E. Lake –furniture, funerals (1888-1901)

J. R. Williams & Sons –furniture, funerals (1902-1903)

Elwood Wilson – variety store (1903)

H. L. Ingermann –dry goods, furniture (1904-1910)

Star Theatre (1913)

Isis Theatre (1914)

U. S. Theatre (1914-1920)

Griffin Furniture (1920-1923) American Theatre (1923-1924) Palace Theatre (1924-1925)

Duckwall Used Cars (1925-1928)

Harrison Bowling Alley (1928-1929)

Partlow Furniture (1930-1931)

Logan Theatre (1932-1959)

Sears (1959-1984)

Famous Label (1984-1986)

International Marts on the Square (1986-1992)

Linden Tree (1993-present)

The second floor included many different kinds of tenants, includ ing lawyers, doctors, newspapers (the Democrat and the Times), a city reading room, and others. The top floor had always been designated to be the Knights of Pythias lodge hall. Berenice Lodge No. 120 had been organized in June of 1884 with fifty charter members, one of whom was Albert Lacy. The Boys Club purchased the lodge rooms from the Knights of Pythias in May of 1952. One of their first actions was to remove the hand-operated elevator at the back of the building. They also changed the room at the back of the building from a formal dining room to a basketball court. The Boys Club left in 1969.

Now, big changes are on the way. A new owner, Katie Beeson Nurnberger, has purchased the building and hopes to restore many of the unique and interesting features of the building. (In an interesting coincidence, Albert’s son Frank built a large house on Logan Street in 1898 that Ms. Nurnberger now calls home.)

Among other things, the rooms at 848 will cease to be a hardware store after 133 years. However, the restoration will give people a better chance to see the quirky details that make this a fun space. It will be exciting to see what develops in the future. HCBM

SIGNS AND BANNERS

Logan St. Signs & Banners

1720 South 10th St.

Noblesville, IN 317-773-7200

Open M-F 8-5

www.loganSt.signs.com www.noblesvilletrophies.com www.noblesville.com www.HamiltonCountyTV.com

Digitally printed signs and banners of any size, vehicle wraps and graphics, T-shirt printing, laser engraving. Great customer service, fast turnaround. Family Owned and Operated. Serving Noblesville and Hamilton County since 1992. Also home of Noblesville Trophies. 773-7391

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

Sharp Business Systems of Indiana 7330 East 86th St. Indianapolis, IN 46256 317-844-0033 www.sbsindiana.com

We are serious about improving our clients businesses by updating office technology, managing office printing and streamlining critical business processes. Sharp Business Systems of Indiana, a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, can increase your company’s bottom line.