Published: October 31, 2009 01:20 pm         

LOOKING BACK: 1999: TH voters elect first female mayor

Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.



1999

n Terre Haute voters elected Vigo County Auditor Judy Anderson (D), their first female mayor. Winners of other mayoral elections were Ron Shepard (D) in Clinton, C. Neal Heap (R) in Sullivan, and Kenneth Crabb (R) for his third term in Brazil.

n Local retailers were concerned about hiring extra employees for the holiday season because of the lack of job seekers. The unemployment rate in the Terre Haute area was 3.2 percent, the lowest in years.

n A record grain crop in the Wabash Valley forced Graham Grain, 200 Voorhees St., beyond its two-million-bushel storage capacity. Workers were now stacking the extra corn in a field off Canal Road.

n Kevin A. Hoolehan, director of development at Gibault School for Boys since 1993, was the new managing director of the Indiana State University Foundation.

n Marilyn Peffley, founder of Terre Haute Mothers Against Drunken Driving (MADD) was awarded the Indiana Communities for Drug Free Youth Enrique Camarena Award for her effort in keeping drunken drivers off the road and educating younger drivers.

1984

n James W. Shanks, president of Shanks Motor Co., received the 25-year Dealer Award from Volkswagen of America. Shanks had become a VW dealer in 1959 at 2122 Wabash Ave., and then moved to 4325 U.S. 41 South in 1970. Almost 6,300 VWs had been sold by the dealership since 1959.

n Dr. Paul Siebenmorgen of Terre Haute was chosen president-elect of the Indiana State Medical Association at its 135th convention in Indianapolis.

n West Vigo Middle School was called “a class operation” in a rave review by the North Central Association evaluation team. James Jackson was the principal and David Graesch the director of the guidance program.

n The Society of St. George hosted “Arabian Nights” featuring a dinner and folk dance demonstration at the St. George Social Center, 1900 S. Fourth St. Zack Kassis was the society president.

n Workers for Gatti Association Inc. completed a new computerized message center at Hulman Center. Terre Haute First National Bank had purchased the outdoor sign and two new computer-controlled scoreboards inside for $240,000.

1959

n The Democrats swept the Terre Haute municipal election except for the council seats of Lawrence R. Jones (R) and Dr. Malcolm E. Boone (R). Mayor Ralph Tucker defeated Ray H. Hahn (R) for his fourth term.

n Dorothy J. Clark was the top vote-getter in the city school board election which was considered a general revolt of voters against present school policies.

n The National Safety Council ranked Terre Haute second in traffic safety among 124 cities in the nation with populations ranging from 50,000 to 100,000. Racine, Wis., placed first.

n Harvest Moon, the first formal dance of the season for high school students, was held in the Mayflower Room of the Terre Haute House with music by The Monitors. The event was sponsored by the Garfield High School Y-Teens, with Judy Hamilton and Kathleen Tomlinson as co-chairs, and the YWCA Y-Teen Cabinet.

n Pete Varda, Schulte High School football coach, said, “It’s always great to beat Wiley” after his Golden Bears’ 28-0 victory over the Red Streaks.