Nappanee High School - Napanet Yearbook (Nappanee, IN)

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lilEMWT Tli » History of Nappanee Rxeta Kellek Men and natural advantages have been the direct means of transforming some villages into thriving, bustling cities. Few country villages, however, have been able to make substantial progress beyond the status of the rural country store. They have depended entirely upon men, and their natural advantages have remained unsuspected until some energetic, foresighted, untiring men have brought them to light. The city of Nappanee is one of the exceptions where men made might in the absence of some of these things which are usually the first essentials in the building of commercial and manufacturing centers. Like pioneers, who transformed the country where forrests stood into waving fields of ripening grain, the early builders of Nappanee paved the way for those who came after them to enjoy the blessings of a great manufacturing and commercial center. Nappanee was laid out in November. 1874 by John Culp, Henry Stahlv, and Daniel Metzler- It was surveyed by George Ager. the county surveyor at that time. The city is situated in the southwestern part of Elkhart County, on Section 36, of Locke Township and on Section 31 of Union Township, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The name of the city was taken from a town in Canada. The first building in the place was erected as a passenger depot. In a short time a post office was established, then Rickert and Company opened the first store. In the spring of 1877) a hotel was erected and thrown open to the public. It became known as the Nappanee House. The first drug store and the first drygoods and grocery stores were established. That year C. D. Volkman opened the first blacksmith shop and Joseph Strohm organized a Starch Box factory and planing mill. Later the proprietors of this factory became J. C. Mellinger, John and Frank Coppes- The first birth and death that occurred in the town was that of an infant son of James D. Lake. The first marriage was that of John Coppes and Melinda Strohm in 1878. Thus began a town which was destined to become something more than a mere railroad station. Numerous other business houses were soon under process of erection and a great many laboring men flocked to the town to seek employment. In a short time the town began to improve rapidly. In 1877 Hartman Brothers store was established. It then went by the name of Hartman and Brothers- In 1881 the creamery, poultry and egg establishment of George Freese’s Sons was built, preceeding the organization of a furniture factory and many smaller concerns. All employed quite a little army of men, many of whom were married and who at once began to buy and build homes for themselves and families. They are now the pride of this sprightly city, and their homes beautify it. A casual glance at the commodious private dwellings all around Nappanee will convince the visitor that less than two per cent of the householders here are renters. This speaks volumes for the industries of Nappanee which arc paying decent wages to their employees. By this happy combination of circumstances has Nappanee continued to grow from a little village to an incorporated city in the short period of fourteen years- Her incorporation as a city took effect in the winter of 1888-!). Schools, churches, hotels, first class business houses and several of the finest manufacturing industries in the state of Indiana having been established here within that time. Nappanee is a clean city morally, socially and religiously. A city with beautiful shaded streets and well kept lawns, with many handsome homes and more miles of cement sidewalk and paved street than any small city in the state and with its creditable business houses and hotels it is a desirable

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CLASS ROLL Earl Hleile Ruth Berlin Reo Clyde Sherman Emmons Editli Frevert Mary Hossler Raymond Harter Noah Mlshler Aaron Moore Blanche Musser Kenton Mellinger Donald Malcolm .John Mitschelin LaMar Mutschler Herbert Miller Agnes Oswald El wood Overholser Ward R ingen berg Otto Robinson Kenneth Tobias John Ulery French Widmoyer Addie Welsh Lloyd Holderman Versie Sheets Bertha Sheets Rial Stillson Bernetlia Stahly Vera Sloat Willie Strycker Ortice Selimucker Esther Truex

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city to live in. It is a city where farmers caii sell produce, grain and stock, and buy from merchants who carry up-to-date stock of goods in all various commercial lines, as well as, building material and wholesale manufactured products. A city with eleven churches, Sunday schools, good public schools, places of amusement, a city of industrious and sober mechanics, of public spirited citizens who work together unselfishly to improve the community in which they live- Nappanee is a city with all the modern benefits of banking, of railroad, of telegraph, of telephone, electric light and water works, and pure water. It is a city with many large fraternal and insurance orders, and courteous, well-read professional men. Nappanee is a city in the midst of the most fertile farming region in the middle west, where crops can be and are so varied that a total failure or “farmers’ famine’’ is unknown. The farmers own beautiful homes, well nourished lands and enjoy all the privile. ges of city life and yet are in touch with the health-giving influences of the country. A city located in the center of the great onion lands of the state; a city the youngest in Elkhart County, Indiana, yet third in size and importance commercially and politically with a population in the year 1915, just forty-one years after the first plat was made, of 2800 souls. The city of Nappanee is at the present time governed' by a hoard of four trustees, elected by the people of the entire corporation- Likewise it is provided with a town-clerk, marshal, night-watchman and treasurer, who are elected by vote of the people. The puplic schools are governed by the school board. The board of trustees also constitute the board of health, who choose a local physician as a secretary to look after general health-giving influences as against the health-destroying influences. The town-elerk is also water works and light superin- tendent and the marshal acts as street commissioner. Usually the first question asked about a city by one who wishes to bring up a family therein is: “What is tile character of its schools?” Nappanee is proud of its educational facilities and for the past ten years Prof. (’. F-Miler at the head of the schools with a competent corps of teachers numbering sixteen at the present time, has successfully devoted his time and energy to promoting the educational facilities of Nappanee’s schools. In the Nappanee High School, at the present time, we have a four year course consisting of work in English, Mathematics, History, Science, Latin, and German, Bookkeeping, Commercial Law, Commercial Geography, Manual Training and Domestic Science. During the history of the High school there have gone forth from its hall 216 graduates. But the class of 1915 is the largest that has ever graduated from the Nap-panee High School. The churches of Nappanee are all Protestant, the Methodist Episcopal, the Mennonite, United Bretheran, Amish Mennonite, German Baptist, Progressive Bretheran. Evangelical, Lutheran, Saints, Presbyterian and Dunkard Brethern Churches. Nappanee has two weekly newspapers: “The Nappanee News” and “The Nappanee Advance.” There is also in Nappanee a good band; basket and base ball teams. Also an amusement company, which has clmrg of the Auditorium and Theatorium. Another source of amusement is the roller skating rink. Besides these things we have a better equipped post office than any city of this size in the state. Nappanee is rapidly increasing in population and improvements and it is difficult to surmise what is yet in store for the citizens of this city. (iet an Automobile Lowell LaMar Blosskr Eagles live to be a hundred years old and older. Fresh air does that for them. The automobile will do for you what the eagle’s wings do for him. Get an automobile. Now is the time to realize that the marvels of automobile building and using are only beginning. You can buy an automobile for $5,000 and it will be worth every cent of the money- You can buy for $500 or less an automobile that would be worth $5,000 if it could not be bought for less. Where thousands of automobiles have been sold, tens of thousands will he sold. Whoever talks of national automobile ex-