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bobrude
4 Posts |
 Posted - 02/09/2010 : 08:13:59
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Thanks Tom. Being a HHS graduate in good standing I figured it out
just before you posted. Thanks again for your help. |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2010 : 08:47:26
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quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Ken,
I have no doubt you would be digging up what you could on whatever if you were near the region. You do an excellent job from where you sit. One thing you might be able to help me with....do the maps you have of Hessville show Grand Park and Orchard Dr./Grand area where Orchard Dr. ran into (or became) Black Oak Road? I don't remember the date on the maps you acquired, but would be interested in seeing that area before the '60s.
Jim,
What was or is your line of work? Is it too late to become a sleuth? Maybe there is a novel lurking in your love of happenings from the past.
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2010 : 08:52:08
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Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Ken,
I have no doubt you would be digging up what you could on whatever if you were near the region. You do an excellent job from where you sit. One thing you might be able to help me with....do the maps you have of Hessville show Grand Park and Orchard Dr./Grand area where Orchard Dr. ran into (or became) Black Oak Road? I don't remember the date on the maps you acquired, but would be interested in seeing that area before the '60s.
Jim,
What was or is your line of work? Is it too late to become a sleuth? Maybe there is a novel lurking in your love of happenings from the past.
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2010 : 10:57:41
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Jim, if you lived in Hessville between the years of 1940 and 1961, attended/graduated Morton between the years 1952 (I started Morton in last half of 6th grade) and 1958, we probably crossed paths. I graduated OPMHS in 1958--I was a carhop at Kelly's, worked at Girman and Glegg Realty on Kennedy for about a year and then worked for Graybar Electric on Indianapolis for awhile. I left da region for college and never moved back--though did come back the first summer and carhopped at the Pow-Wow at night while a church secretary by day. If you visited Kelly's the summer of 1957 or Pow-Wow the summer of 61, we may have crossed paths.
So, now you know, I am an oldster on this site....well, on any site, I guess
[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
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Roger D
116 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2010 : 22:00:15
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Dealing with the Orchard Dr./ Blackoak Rd. Question. Orchard Dr. ran from Kennedy Ave. to Cline Ave. People called it Blackoak Rd. from about Grand Ave. on because when you crossed old two lane Cline Ave you were in the Blackoak section of Gary. Offically Blavkoak Rd. has never existed.
I lived just off Orchard Dr. on New Hampshire Ave from June of '57 until February of '64.
When you drove out Orchard Dr., after passin Grand Av. you came to a six way stop where Orchard Dr., 177th St. and New Hampshire crossed. Two blocks passed this intersection either on Orchard Dr. or 177th you crossed into Blackoak. Reds' Grocery was at Cline and 80/94.
Roger D. |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2010 : 08:44:58
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SC, I was at Morton from 58 to 62 so you would be in my freshman yearbook. How might you be listed. Someplace in the garage I have a Pow Wow window menu with a number on the flip side. Hope I didn't steal it from you!!quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Jim, if you lived in Hessville between the years of 1940 and 1961, attended/graduated Morton between the years 1952 (I started Morton in last half of 6th grade) and 1958, we probably crossed paths. I graduated OPMHS in 1958--I was a carhop at Kelly's, worked at Girman and Glegg Realty on Kennedy for about a year and then worked for Graybar Electric on Indianapolis for awhile. I left da region for college and never moved back--though did come back the first summer and carhopped at the Pow-Wow at night while a church secretary by day. If you visited Kelly's the summer of 1957 or Pow-Wow the summer of 61, we may have crossed paths.
So, now you know, I am an oldster on this site....well, on any site, I guess
[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Sc, I've been a theater projectionist since 1974 and for the last five years I work part time at a church in Santa Monica. Before that I had lots of jobs in the region. Pullman Standard comes to mind also Chapman Laundry and The Associates Finance co in Gary. Have we crossed paths somewhere?[quote]Originally posted by Jim Plummer
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2010 : 11:00:19
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SC, I was at Morton from 58 to 62 so you would be in my freshman yearbook. How might you be listed. Someplace in the garage I have a Pow Wow window menu with a number on the flip side. Hope I didn't steal it from you!!
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Edited by - S C Jones on 02/10/2010 20:04:03 |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2010 : 08:38:17
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SC, please repeat your response; it didn't print out
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2010 : 17:31:24
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Jim, I sent you an email.
quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
SC, please repeat your response; it didn't print out
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seejay2
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2010 : 18:43:59
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I just happen to be leafing thru Gary Wilson's book, Blunt Force, and he has written a chapter on the Opal Collins case named Kentucky Rifle (p.57). He is giving some pretty juicy accounts that were withheld from the general public. That character sounded like a real piece of work better off left alone.[quote]
Originally posted by S C Jones
You are welcome. If you google Opal Juanita Collins, you can get some info on her and the sentencing statistics for women in Indiana--but there seems to be little else on line. I did get an email once from one saying she was a granddaughter of Opal and wanting to know if I knew any more about Opal.... The internet age really makes this a different world we live in from the 1940--61 world of Hammond I knew.
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 09:02:28
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Thanks Seejay! Following your lead,I just read that chapter (begins on page 57) see Lake County topic reference
Blunt Force: A Reporter's Heartbeat - Google Books Result
Gary L. Wilson - 2009 - Biography & Autobiography - 110 pages
books.google.com/books?isbn=0533160340...quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
I just happen to be leafing thru Gary Wilson's book, Blunt Force, and he has written a chapter on the Opal Collins case named Kentucky Rifle (p.57). He is giving some pretty juicy accounts that were withheld from the general public. That character sounded like a real piece of work better off left alone.[quote]
Originally posted by S C Jones
You are welcome. If you google Opal Juanita Collins, you can get some info on her and the sentencing statistics for women in Indiana--but there seems to be little else on line. I did get an email once from one saying she was a granddaughter of Opal and wanting to know if I knew any more about Opal.... The internet age really makes this a different world we live in from the 1940--61 world of Hammond I knew.
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Edited by - S C Jones on 02/21/2010 09:04:41 |
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seejay2
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 09:18:55
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| ...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 09:44:42
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| oops! |
Edited by - S C Jones on 02/21/2010 09:52:42 |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 09:47:38
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Opal was released from prison in the late 60's or early 70's---there was an article in The Tennessean at the time she was released. It was noted because she was the first woman to be sentenced to death in Indiana. I think she was in prison about 10 years. From there, I have no idea. The town she and the Collins family were from was Maysville or Mayville in Northeastern Kentucky.
There is a picture of her on the Indiana State Prison Virtual Museum site
and there is a posting online of the headlines regarding the murders and the trial:
Opal Collins—Newspaper Bibliography#8232;
Hammond Times#8232;
May27, 1956 p. A1 & A2“Bride of Paralyzed Vet Held”#8232;
May 28, 1956 . A1 & A2“You Killed 4” “File Murder Charges In Hammond Deaths.”#8232;
May 31, 1956 p. A2 “Slayer of 4 Takes Jail Life Quietly”#8232;#8232;
October 16, 1956 p. 1 & 2 (2star) “Opal Jury Selection Continues”#8232;
October 16, 1956 p. 1 & 2 (3star) “Boy, 6, May Be Witness In Opal Trial”#8232;
October 17, 1956 p. 1 (2star) “Juror Ill; Opal Trial Is Slowed”#8232;
October 17, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “Opal's Past Acts bared By Metro”#8232;
October 18, 1956 p. 1 (2star) “May Pick Opal Jury By Friday”#8232;
October 19, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “All-Male Opal Jury; Open Trial”#8232;
October 21, 1956 p. A1 & A14 “Will Opal Be 1st Woman in Indiana Chair?”#8232;
October 22, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “Opal Trial Underway”#8232;
October 23, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Opal Sobs on Witness Stand”#8232;
October 24, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Boy, 6, Tells of Shootings”#8232;
October 25, 1956 p. 1 (3star) “2 Doctors Say Opal Is Sane”#8232;
October 26, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Report Decision on Penalty Stalls Verdict”#8232;
October 28, 1956 p. A1 & A2 “Death Row Cell Awaits Convicted Mrs. Collins”#8232;
October 29, 1956 p. 2 “Opal Will Stay in Hub jail for 10 More Days”#8232;#8232;
Indianapolis Star#8232;#8232;
October 27, 1956 p. 1 & 2 “Women Gets Chair”#8232;Indianapolis Times#8232;
November 23, 1956 p. 21 “Killer's Life Is in Hands of Handley”
For information about how to get copies, contact me:#8232;
Darrol Pierson#8232;Independent Researcher#8232;
135 South Hawthorne Lane#8232;
Indianapolis IN 46219
darrol_pierson9051@sbcglobal.net#8232;(317) 322-1703 (leave message)
Notice that the age of the boy was 6 not 9 as Wilson reported.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj
Grand Park Subdivision 1940-1961 Boondocks of Hessville!
[/quote]
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Edited by - S C Jones on 02/21/2010 15:22:38 |
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seejay2
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 10:24:54
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| Where is all this stuff at? |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 15:20:36
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quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
The picture is here: www.in.gov/idoc/files/ISP_VirtualMuseum.swf
The listing of articles is here: freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/.../opalcollinsnewsbib.html
I just happened upon both of them when I googled: Opal Collins, Indiana mass murderer.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Where is all this stuff at?
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seejay2
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 15:51:42
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| Man, she just looks like trouble...kinda like my ex.......Cj |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/21/2010 : 16:32:40
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Well, we know she was trouble--it is difficult to tell, but she didn't seem to have the light blue steely eyes that Wilson described. I wouldn't question the cold, steely-eyed description, though. I saw her at the trial. Not a hair out of place and dressed to the nines to show her figure. I was there when she was on the stand, but I just remember seeing her and not any of the questions or answers.
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Man, she just looks like trouble...kinda like my ex.......Cj
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 08:45:29
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| She looks like she didn't want to be there. Actually I had 1961 passport photos taken by the Hammond Police photographer and I looked guilty!! |
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tannadk
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2010 : 22:26:00
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quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
...but ultimately, what happened to her? Is she still in prison? Was she ever released? Is she in Hell passing out fruit baskets to the newcomers? Don't know............Cj
She moved to ohio i believe and passed away living a normal life. Thats our system for ya. The collins family were my relatives! |
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tom w
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2010 : 03:01:47
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| Thanks for coming forward with that, I know it must have been very difficult. Even though I dont have a clue who she is or what happened. Guess I got spared on that one. Tom |
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S C Jones
USA
263 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2010 : 10:31:10
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Here's what I found online regarding Opal's conversion--I knew I had read this sometime ago, so went searching:
A copy of the following unidentified newspaper article was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:
Rev. Adam Retains Pastorate of Local Church
The Rev. William Adam, pastor of Trinity Lutheran church, had declined the call extended him by Trinity Lutheran church, Westville, and St. Paul Lutheran church, of Otis, Ind., and will continue to serve the local Lutheran church. Pastor Adam came to Lowell in the summer of 1949, and has worked with the members of his parish in building up its membership, as well as in the construction of a new church, parish hall, and parsonage. He and his family are happy to remain in the Lowell community, to which they have become endeared through the years.
A copy of the following newspaper article, hand-identified as being from the Dec. 13, 1956, Tribune, was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:
Opal Collins Sentence Commuted to Life
Gov. George N. Craig, Monday commuted the death sentence of Opal Collins to life imprisonment.
The 26-year-old Hammond murderess was convicted and sentence to die in the electric chair February 15. She would have been the first woman in Indiana to pay the supreme penalty. Mrs. Collins shot and killed her husband, mother-in-law, and two young sisters-in-law in the Collins home, 3714 176th Ave., last May 26. It was for the murder of her youngest victim, Mary Sue Collins, 1, that she was tried and convicted.
While Mrs. Collins was confined to the Lake County jail, she had as her spiritual counselor, Rev. William Adam of Lowell. She came to realize the sacredness of human life, is repentant for her sins, and found happiness thru Christian light. When she was baptized she said, "This is the happiest day of my life." |
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Bill Bucko
USA
266 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2010 : 18:27:00
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Nice going, dumb_ss politicians. Why not let all the murderers out of prison? Killing 5 people doesn't make anybody bad. All they have to do is say they've seen the light.
Disgustedly,
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
Edited by - Bill Bucko on 02/25/2010 18:29:04 |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2010 : 08:56:31
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Well, I guess she never killed anyone else so maybe in her case they were right but, let's not turn them all loose.
Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody? |
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Bill Bucko
USA
266 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2010 : 05:07:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
... Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody?
No, never heard of her. I had Miss Jordan, at the brick Harding, 1954, in that huge room (on the east side facing the rear playground) that had a folding divider down the middle, a piano, big wooden construction blocks, cubbyholes for nap rugs, etc.
I believe a little info on Miss Jordan was posted a few months ago, somewhere on this Forum.
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
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wvcogs
USA
399 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2010 : 06:30:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Bill, did you have Miss Jane Fowler for kindergarten? Anybody?
Jim and Bill, I just exchanged emails with a lady who began kindergarten in fall 1945 and had Miss Fowler. My wife began as a mid-term student in spring 1946 with Miss Jordan. If anyone is interested, I posted a brief history of Harding at http://pages.suddenlink.net/morton1960/HardingElementary.pdf.
Ken |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2010 : 09:25:54
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| Oh no not the 'new' building!!!!How could they tear it down! Well, at least it didn't have that wooden smell the 'old' building had. OK Ken does she remember anything about Miss Fowler? |
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wvcogs
USA
399 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2010 : 11:20:56
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| Nope, nothing about Miss Fowler. |
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Jim Plummer
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 08:40:45
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| Am I right on this? Planet Hammond seems at times to be slowing down? |
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Tom J
906 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 11:48:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim Plummer
Am I right on this? Planet Hammond seems at times to be slowing down?
It seems to me like there has been a loss of momentum there, but, Lord have mercy, it couldn't have kept up that frantic pace indefinitely.
Tom |
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cartoonguy
USA
56 Posts |
Posted - 03/14/2010 : 22:17:07
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| One of the problems with having too many members is that if you post a topic, within moments it is buried by hundreds of new ones, so I am sure many of them go unread. |
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