Did you know that the

National Queen of the

Hobos, AKA, Gypsy Moon,

lives very near Coal City?

There’s more.

She’s planning to hide a

one-of-a-kind, collectible,

hobo walking stick right

here in the village. Find it

and it’s yours!

The hobos elected her queen,

because of a book she wrote

(published by I.U. Press) that

consists of oral histories she

conducted with many of the

old-timers like Steamtrain

Maury, Frisco Jack, Gas Can

Paddy, Slo Freight Ben, etc.

Her book emphasizes that

hobos were not tramps or

bums...but migratory workers

who filled a significant labor

need throughout America for

many decades.

One of Gypsy Moon’s hobbies

is making walking sticks...just

the way her hobo friends

taught her.

She explains: “Hobos always

carried their stick with them.

It was very much a part of

their history and culture. It

was also a ready means of

protection. The wood is

carefully selected. Any

wounds or twists in the stick

are symbolic of our own

woundedness and of the

unexpected twists our lives

often take. Walking sticks are

decorated with knots and

carvings and other items of

interest that tell about the

owner’s own journey from the

cradle to the Westbound

(death).”

Look for the stick on the

morning of March 18th. It will

be visible (at least partially)

and within the village limits.

Would you like to learn more

about hobos? Well, just find

the walking stick and win the

book too!

A Spring Story 2

Chicken Coop Raffle 2

Can You Guess? 2

Looking Ahead 3

Schools and Families 3

Upcoming Events 4

Kudos Korner Bookmobile

4

4

What’s Inside? Can You Find the Hobo Walking Stick in Coal City?

A Coal City Newsletter March 2013

Photo by Carl Smith

At left: Gypsy Moon with some of her hobo friends on the back of a caboose. Note that all the hobos are carrying their prized walking sticks.

One spring day, two robins

were sitting in a tree. One

said to the other: “I’m

hungry. Let’s go find some

lunch.”

Soon they saw a newly

plowed garden full of

worms. They ate and ate

and ate until they were so

full that they couldn’t even

fly back up into the tree...so

they decided to just bask in

the sun at the garden’s edge

while taking a nap.

As soon as they fell asleep,

a big Tom cat came along

and ate them both.

“Wow,” the cat mused, “I

just love Baskin Robins!”

NOTE: If you are tired of

winter, take heart. On

March 20th, spring will

finally arrive!

(This story is adapted

from…coolnicks.co.uk)

What’s up the road? A HEAD?

That’s right! Can you tell us where this head is located? If so, just email The

Villager at jericho142@gmail.com.

If you are first to give us the right answer, you will receive a FREE breakfast from

Sandy’s Market.

Can You Guess It?

Burt Whiteside, owner of Burt’s

Barns in Coal City, has donated

one of his buildings to be used as

a fundraiser to benefit Coal City.

Burt made this donation to

advance the goals of the Good

Start program. The chicken coop

is on display next door to the

service station. If your ticket is

drawn, you can choose between

the coop OR a storage barn of

equal size.

A Spring Story

The Villager A Coal City Newsletter

March 2013 Page 2

Buy Some Chances and WIN! You Choose Your Prize: A Chicken Coop or Storage Shed

Chicken Coop Extraordinaire! Full and side view of the chicken coop donated by Burt Whiteside. Tickets will go on sale soon in Coal City at upcoming local events. One ticket for $1 or six for $5.

Anniversary!

The Coal City Community

Volunteer Fire Dept will

celebrate its 40th

anniversary on March

23rd! Frank Pennington

was the first Fire Chief,

and Angela Pennington

helped start the Auxiliary.

Volunteers are always

needed and welcomed.

Meetings are held every

first Monday.

Think FESTIVAL!

You will soon be seeing a

lot more about the Coal City

Festival scheduled for

August 16, 17, 18, but here

are a couple things to note.

Want an ad in the Ad Book?

$50.00 for a full page ad

$30.00 for half page

$20.00 for 1/4 page

$15.00 for 1/8 page

Ads and payments due by

April 15!

Make checks payable to:

Coal City Festival Ads

MaryFrances Hochstetler

14693 Stockton Rd

Coal City, In 47427

Interested in a booth?

The cost is $10.00 per

space (electric is an

additional $5 for 110 or

$10 for 220 service).

Bring your own table and

shade.

Looking Ahead

The Villager A Coal City Newsletter

March 2013 Page 3

WORDS TO

THINK ABOUT

Anyone can count the

seeds in an apple, but

only God can count

the apples in a seed.

Robert H. Schuller

Looking Back at a Few Local Schools and Some Familiar Family Names Stockton was in the northeast corner of Section 12 of Jefferson Township. Delpha Dayhuff, born 1902, attended grades 1-8 there. She went on to Coal City in the fall of 1916. Family names of children at the school included Michler, Hochstetler, Willen, Megenhardt, Neihart, Stantz, and Haviland. The school may have closed about 1917 to 1919. Bethsaida was a one room frame school located in Section 25 of Jefferson Township near Bethsaida church of Christ. Gladys Clark was the teacher in 1910 with 30 pupils. The school closed 1921-1922. Trent School was in the northwest corner of Section 24 of Jefferson Township, about 1/2 mile due east of the later brick Dean School. Trent School burned in 1915, the year Frank Fiscus was the teacher. District School #1 was in the southeast corner of Section 2 of Jefferson Township. John A. Stahl remembered that the school was still standing but abandoned in 1922 when his family moved. Antioch School #2 sat in the southeast corner of Section 4, near Antioch Church. Florence Stahl Kimble and her brother John A Stahl both remember that their brothers George and Perry William attended Antioch a few years before it closed in 1925. Mildred Dalton and Lee Price both taught at Antioch. District School #9 was in Section 5 of Jefferson on the west side of County Road 1200W at the "T" in the road. Its last school year was 1932-1933. John B. DeFore taught 24 students in 1929-1930; Opal Shouse had fourteen pupils the 1930-1931 school year; and Lee Price taught the last 2 terms with 13 children in 1931-1932 and 10 students the final year. Hubbell School, a one room white frame building for all eight grades, closed in 1926, and nothing remains today except memories. Maxine Collenbaugh Wells attended there three years before transferring to Coal City. Children walked long distances to Hubbell School, so to go to Coal City by bus was a treat. It was known for pie suppers and a potbellied stove. A few of the students were: Parker Shouse, Bessie Sinders, Raymond Mizer, Clarence Smith, Geneva Powell, and Wilma Padgett. Lee Price was a teacher there.

This information from http://www.owencounty.org/towns/coalc.htm.

What’s Happening Around Coal City in March?

The Villager A Coal City Newsletter

March 2013 Page 4

The Owen County Bookmobile—from the public library in Spencer—began operating in 2012. It is a non-profit initiative

that aims to grow the availability of the Owen County Public Library to residents who can not conveniently visit the main

branch. It comes to Coal City every Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30pm. For more information, call 812-829-3392.

Their website explains that the Bookmobile is 1,350 square feet of sheer reading pleasure! It visits schools, communities, nursing homes, etc. on a regular schedule. There are 2,300 educational items available for checkout by any Owen County Public Library cardholder. Don’t miss it!

"Some books are to be tasted; others to be swallowed; and a few to be chewed and digested."

(Francis Bacon)

March 4, 7pm, Fire Department Meeting (Every 1st Monday.)

March 7, 7pm, Good Start Meeting at Jefferson Baptist Church

March 10, Daylight Savings Time begins (Remember the rule—Spring Forward; Fall Back)

March 17, Top of the mornin’ to ya!

March 18, Find the Hobo Walking Stick hidden in Coal City!

March 18, 7pm, Festival Committee at Jefferson Baptist Church—All welcome

March 20—Happy Spring!

March 26, 7pm, American Legion and Auxiliary Meeting at the Legion Building

March 31, Have a blessed Easter!

You can contact The Villager at jericho142@gmail.com

Thanks to Burt Whiteside for donating a custom-built chicken coop as a fundraiser to benefit Coal City.

Our thanks to all the former and present firefighters and their families for their service to our town. Never thank your kindness and commitment is not noticed!

Thanks to Mary Frances Hochstetler, Jefferson Township Trustee, for all the large and small (and often unseen and unnoticed) acts of kindness. Thanks for going far beyond what is expected!

Spring is just

around the corner

Those who labor in

the earth are the

chosen people of God. Thomas Jefferson

Kudos Korner [Kudo, koo-doh, plural is kudos, a noun meaning honor, praise, acclaim]

About the Owen County Bookmobile