Vol. 40, No. 34
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. November 8, 2017
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Local firm buys Bradley Building By The Paper staff The old Bradley Building has sold, Wabash Marketplace President Jason Callahan announced Wednesday, Nov. 1. Located at 5 W. Canal St. in downtown Wabash, Wabash Marketplace sold the historic building to local developers/investors Kathleen Alspaugh and Dave Vandermark of Vandermark Duffey Enterprises, Inc. The closing sale took place Tuesday, Oct. 31.
“We are very pleased that this sale came to fruition,” Callahan said. “Although Marketplace will now have to abandon its efforts to create downtown affordable housing, we truly believe that passing this old beautiful building off to local private developers offers the best chance for its survival.” Steve Downs, Marketplace executive director, said that the downtown organization “purchased the Bradley building last summer in hopes of saving it from
demolition.” “Since then,” he continued, “we have been actively looking for private developers and, as a fall back, sought funding to create an affordable housing complex. We had accumulated most of the monies we needed from numerous sources, totaling about $1.6 million, when Kathleen and David made an acceptable offer. “We now have to decline most of those grant monies, but this is a great opportunity for our downtown and our entire
community. We are very happy with Dave’s and Kathleen’s vision for the building, and this will allow Marketplace to devote its resources to other projects that need attention.” Work has already commenced with Vandermark Builders as the general contractor. Vandermark Duffey Enterprises failed to respond to The Paper of Wabash County’s request for comment by deadline.
Local siblings join an exclusive club 7 Denney siblings mark at least 50 years of marriage this year By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com
Angie Beauchamp (left) and Kelly Thompson show off an elephant blanket that was found in a tack box once owned by animal trainer Terrell Jacobs. It is not known if the blanked belonged to Modoc or another of Jacob’s animals. Photo by Joseph Slacian
75th anniversary of Modoc’s great escape to be celebrated By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com On Nov. 11, 1942, a runaway circus elephant drew the attention of the world on the City of Wabash. Modoc, along with two other elephants, Judy and Empress, were tethered near the Wabash High School prior to a performance by the Great American Circus. A dog spooked the elephants, and they broke free of their tethering. Judy and Empress were caught shortly after breaking free, roaming aimlessly through nearby neighborhoods. Modoc, on the other hand, led city, county and state officials on a five-day, two-county journey that ended in a Huntington County field. Modoc, who had lost upward of 800 pounds on the venture, was lured back into cap-
tivity by what today would be considered an elephant whisperer, Ezra Smith, who used words and 26 loaves of bread back to her owner, famed animal trainer Terrell Jacobs. To celebrate the 75th anniversary, Modoc’s Market owners Angie and Mike Beauchamp plan a daylong celebration on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the coffee shop, 205 S. Miami St. “We’re celebrating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” manager Kelly Thompson said. “It will be family time in the (meeting room)” located immediately south of the coffee shop. There will be four different stations, she said, noting those include craft, a photo booth, a bucket toss game and face painting. From 2-4 p.m., the shop will offer 75 cent drinks, Thompson continued. Then from 6-8 p.m., Johnny Kirkwood and (continued on page 4)
Bob and Ellen Denney reached their golden anniversary on Oct. 8 and became the seventh set of Denney siblings to achieve 50 years of marriage. On Sunday, Oct. 29, the Denneys celebrated the milestone at the Honeywell Center, the six other siblings present to welcome them to the club. A family native to Wabash County, the late Darwin “John” and Delores “Jeff ” (Jeffries) Denney’s eldest seven of nine children — Lawrence, Mary Louise, Donald, Carol, Max, David and Bob—have all reached 50-year wedding anniversaries. Within the family, there are six sons and two daughters. One daughter passed away. Bob and his wife will be the end of the 50th anniversary couples, Bob said, noting that “the other younger brother started over again and he’s going to have to reach 100(-years-old)
before he can reach his 50th. It is possible, but not likely.” The Denney nieces and nephews are the next in line to reach the marriage milestone. Within the Denney couples, 13 of the 14 people are native to Wabash County. “One is not,” Bob joked with a smile. “Me,” Ellen admitted with a laugh, later noting she was a DeKalb County native. “I’m the odd duck.” “I’m the only one who went off to college and came home with a bride,” Bob added. While seven Denneys have reached their golden anniversaries, Bob explained that his parents did not. “My dad died relatively young,” he said, “but my mother lived to be 90.” “And she would have been delighted,” his wife added. “To me, (reaching the 50th anniversary) has meaning because of my brothers and sisters,” Bob said. “I have six (continued on page 5)
Veteran’s Day services planned By The Paper staff Wabash County’s annual Veteran’s Day ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Wabash County Courthouse. The ceremony will begin with an invocation by Jim Black, chaplain at the Wabash American Legion Post No.15, followed by the national anthem sung by Josie Wade. Following that, Mayor Scott Long, as well as Laura Varga, a representative from Sen. Joe Donnelly’s office, and Chris Lee, a representative from U.S. Rep.
Jackie Walorski’s office, will present remarks. The ladies auxiliaries from the Wabash American Legion and the Wabash Veterans of Foreign Wars will follow the comments. More remarks will then be presented, coming from VFW Post 286 Commander Brian Hannigan and American Legion Post. 15 Commander Steve Conner. Following those remarks, the VFW rifle team will fire a salute, followed by taps performed by bugler Bonnie Truss.