Betty Jane Smith: A Culver Tragedy

Betty Jane Smith: A Culver Tragedy

by | Feb 20, 2026 | Culver, Visitor Stories & Oral Histories

Feature Image. From left: Betty Jane Smith; Mildred Isom, Betty Jane Smith, and Eleanor Turner (photo courtesy Mildred Isom)

By: By Mildred Isom, Edited by Jeff Kenney and Anita Boetsma

In July 2007, Mildred Isom, originally of Culver, sent an essay about her recollections of her friendship with — and subsequent grief at the death of — Betty Jane Smith, one of the four African American children drowned in the 1947 tragedy. Betty Jane was buried in Mildred’s band uniform, a fact which Mildred blocked from memory.

Betty Jane Smith was a member of our exclusive quartet of friends at Culver High School.  She was an orphan who came from Chicago to live with her grandparents in our little farm town of Culver, IN, in the early 1940’s.  The four of us were immediately drawn together into the same activities with the same goals.  Marching Band, softball and other sports were our first choices but we soon we all joined Chapel Choir and the orchestra.  Our band and sports teams went out of town each year to compete in contests statewide.

Betty Jane Smith.

Betty’s bubbly personality kept us all cheerful, and her long black sausage curls were natural.  Never before and never after have I been a part of such a fun loving, loyal and hardworking group.  Before long Betty’s cousins, Eleanor, Winston and Paul, arrived to live with the grandparents.  Their parents were professionals in Chicago, a dentist, doctor and podiatrist.  I did not even know what a podiatrist was at that time.  Betty’s grandmother’s name was Augusta, but we all called her Ga Ga because the little ones could not pronounce her name.  The grandfather was Lloyd Smith, a rotund, jolly white-haired gentleman who kidded us for our attempts at cooking but never failed to consume it.  This family was one of the only two black families in our town and were not related.  In Plymouth, a mere 10 miles north, blacks were not allowed in town after 6:00 pm.  This was a mystery to us in our teenage years in the mid-1940s.*

More time was spent at Betty Jane’s house than mine.  I was always invited for Friday night sleepovers, Sunday dinners and holidays.  My mother had passed away many years before, my older sister was married, and my father worked long hours and was seldom home.  Betty Jane, although much loved and always cheerful, still I think, felt like an orphan and basically so did I at the time.  We were a comfort to each other and felt like sisters.  During the summers one or more of the quartet joined us in swimming, fishing, bike riding and any kind of sports, music and babysitting.

On Friday nights during the summer, we usually rode our bikes around the north side of Lake Maxinkuckee to attend the free movies offered by the Culver Military Academy.  During the winters we walked directly across the lake which was frozen over three months of the year.  One Friday night I had the flu and did not go with them.  About 8:30 p.m. my father came home and told me that he and two friends had pulled Betty Jane, Winston and Paul from the lake.  They had fallen through a thin spot in the ice.  Betty Jane’s cousin, Eleanor Turner, was the only survivor.  Eleanor said that her brother, Winston Turner, had lifted and pushed her up onto solid ice before he succumbed.  She was able to retrace her steps back to the starting point.  Although my father was gentle in telling me, I doubt if he really ever knew how it affected me.  My only real confidant at that time was Betty Jane’s grandmother.  I remember visiting her once right after the event.  We experienced tears, hugs and holding each other.  As far as I remember, I never went back.  I could never bear to again step into the house.  This occurred when we were in the 8th grade.

Life went on, of course. Eleanor continued high school with us but we did not become any closer as she was the studious one and being chubby all her life, she did not care for sports.  She did continue to be in the marching band.  At our class reunion in 2001, she wrote saying she was married, living in New York and regretted she would not be able to attend the reunion.

After the reunion banquet, three of us left in the quartet met at Helen Sikora Zalas’ house, my longtime girlfriend’s, in South Bend, to carry on with our own reunion.  After rehashing and chuckling about a lot of past incidents, Betty Jane’s name was brought up.  Helen turned to me and said, “That was really nice of you to let them use your band uniform for Betty to be buried in.”  I said something like “huh?”  Then the other two girls told me the Band Director had asked if I would donate my uniform and I had said yes, so they transferred my medals onto a maroon cardigan sweater.  Helen asked if I remembered going to the services.  I had to say “no.” I was told we all marched fully uniformed down Main Street to the Evangelical Church for services and further to the cemetery.  One of the girls said that the band director accumulated enough funds to purchase a new uniform jacket for me about a year later.  I had no recollection of these events at the time and still do not.

As the years go by I still think of Betty Jane, and the way we were a long time ago.

*Editor’s Note: According to the Encyclopedia Britannica and other online resources, ”Sundown Towns” excluded people of color from being in town after sunset. This practice existed across the U.S. during the 20th Century.

The Museum is home to many stories like this one. Information about the history of Black communities in Culver is available as well. The Museum is open from 10 until 4 from Tuesday through Saturday at 123 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. For more information, call 574-936-2306.

Dedication of the Historic Firehouse

Dedication of the Historic Firehouse

by | Feb 18, 2026 | Buildings & Historic Preservation, Plymouth

Feature Image. Fire House dedication, firemen standing in front of old firehouse, ca 1995.

The following article was written in the MCHS Quarterly on July 3, 1976, and the original firehouse was still in use after 100 years.

An Early City Hall and Engine Building

The City Hall and Engine Building, now housing our present fire department, was completed late in 1875. Built by Robert McCance and W.P. Beaton as contractors, the building cost $4,200. Alfred Morrison, Platt McDonald and W.D. Thompson supervised the construction for the city. The original building was 34 feet wide and fifty feet long, with brick walls 35 feet high and 18 inches thick to the second story with 12-inch-thick walls from there to the roof. The hose and bell tower was nine feet square and 59 feet high.

The first floor consisted of one large room in which the firefighting equipment was kept. Listed as the equipment owned by the department at that time was one hand engine, one hose cart, hose and hooks and ladders.

Upgrading Equipment

The first fire engine was purchased sometime between 1863 and 1868 and was, from all indications, a “sidestroke” engine. Five or six men to a side, pumping up and down vigorously, were able to produce a respectable, pulsating stream of water, procured from a cistern or the river. “Hooks” were long pike poles, usually with a pointed end as well as a hooked end. They were used for pulling down buildings in an attempt to smother fire and keep it from spreading.

The upper story of the new building had two rooms, one for the use of the fire department and the other used as a city council chamber and Mayor’s office. The building was described as being “large enough for the city to use for many years to come”, and so it has been.

Funding the Building

Possession of the building was taken by the city on February 21, 1876, and the dedication was marked with a grand ball, proceeds of which were $165.00. The volunteers had been staging balls for some time prior to this dedication ball for an earlier reference to one in January of 1868 noted receipts of $80.40. The annual Fireman’s Ball continues, each year being held in February, for the benefit of the Fire Department.

Honorary Member Certificate.

This is just one of many resources available at the Marshall County Historical Society & Museum, located at 123 N. Michigan St. in Plymouth. Call us at 574-936-2306.

Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day

Fun Facts about Valentine’s Day

by | Feb 12, 2026 | General History

Feature Image. An assortment of Valentine’s cards from the Museum collection.

The iconic cupid of Valentines Day, with a cherubic face and angelic wings, began as the Greek god, Eros. He was the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and procreation. Cupid is known to shoot two types of arrows, one to cause people to fall in love, and one to make them hate each other. We’ve compiled some fun and interesting Valentine’s Day info from the web!

Food Is the Way to the Heart

Candy hearts began with a Boston pharmacist Oliver Chase. He invented a machine that produced small medical lozenges for the throat. When he saw how popular they were, he turned them into candy with cute messages on them.

Of course, chocolate is a huge part of Valentine’s Day now, but it has a sad beginning. Physicians in the old days would recommend chocolate to people suffering from a broken heart or pining for a lost love. It was Richard Cadbury, a British chocolatier, who invented the first chocolate box. Always the businessman, he realized that he could capitalize on Valentine’s Day by producing chocolate boxes and marketing them as something to be given to your sweetheart.

Valentine’s Day is not celebrated the same way all over the world. In Japan for instance, on February 14th, women give gifts and chocolates to their male companions. The men don’t reciprocate until March 14, which is known as “White Day.” On Valentine’s Day in England, women used to place five bay leaves on their pillows. This was done with an aim to bring dreams of their future husbands. In Norfolk, England, Jack Valentine acts as a Santa for Valentine’s Day. Children anxiously wait for the treats, though they don’t get to see Old Father Valentine. In many places, Valentine’s Day is also celebrated as the beginning of spring.

People Associated with Valentine's Day

Venus, the goddess of love, adored red roses, making them a perfect symbol to express love for another person. To the Victorians, the deeper the rose color, the deeper the passion. A white rose would have been appropriate for a young girl or woman who had not felt passionate love. In a contradiction, the white rose symbolized soul-deep love and marriage. White roses are often referred to as “bridal roses.”

Saint Valentine, for whom the holiday is named, defied the emperor Claudius of Rome. Marriage was outlawed because the emperor believed single men made better soldiers. Saint Valentine performed weddings in secret in defiance of the unfair law. Pope Gelasius later declared the Valentine’s Day holiday in 498 A.D.

Another fun fact. Penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic and one of the greatest scientific discoveries, was introduced to the world on Valentine’s Day. Alexander Fleming was the Scottish physician-scientist who was recognized for discovering penicillin. The simple discovery and use of the antibiotic agent has saved millions of lives and earned Fleming – together with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, who devised methods for the large-scale isolation and production of penicillin – the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine.

Sharing Love Notes

In one ironic twist, Alexander Graham Bell applied for the patent to the telephone on February 14th, 1876, never imagining that it would become the biggest medium for sending Valentine’s Day greetings almost 150 years later.

As for sending cards, Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in the number of cards sent around the world. Today, most cards are mass-produced and generally the selection is pretty sparce by the 14th. Artist Esther Howland was one of the first American printers to start producing Valentine’s Day cards beginning in the 1850s. Ornate cards trimmed with lace became treasured mementos, but why lace? Lace is commonly used in making bouquets of roses and in other items during Valentine’s Day. The word ‘lace’ comes from the Latin word ‘laques’ which means to snare or trap a person’s heart. Isn’t that fitting?

We sign our valentines with Xs and Os to send kisses and hugs. This is not the letter X’s original purpose. In medieval times, most people could not read or write. If a need arose to sign their name, most would simple mark an X. To show affection and loyalty, the writer would kiss the X on the paper before sending.

The often-heard term “wear your heart on your sleeve” began with an old custom. People would pick a name out of a bowl to see who their valentine would be. They would then pin the paper to their sleeve for everyone to see.

The oldest known valentine still in existence today is perhaps a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. A lot of his poetry was not so cheerful as he wasn’t released until 1440, and the poem below was written after his wife died.

Let men and women of Love’s party
Choose their St. Valentine this year!
I remain alone, comfort stolen from me
On the hard bed of painful thought.

Lyda Seghetti and Ray Taber leaning agaist tree, ca. 1940. Featured in Plymouth Remembered, page 80.

The Museum is home to a large selection of antique and vintage valentines, although not currently on display. You can still come see our treasures, perhaps as a lovely museum date! The Museum is open from 10 until 4 from Tuesday through Saturday at 123 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. For more information, call 574-936-2306.

Clips from the Argos Reflector

Clips from the Argos Reflector

by | Feb 5, 2026 | Argos

Among the fascinating tidbits contained in our archives are the microfilm editions of the newspapers that once served our towns. The Argos Reflector published all the news that was news in Argos for many years. Below is a selection of the best from 1881 through 1891. Please note that we have re-created as written and no grammar mistakes have been corrected.

1881 – Argos should have 100 new buildings in course of erection inside of the next three months. We must have more business buildings, more dwelling houses, more of an enterprising spirit manifest instead of our usual lethargy. Wake up, crack your heels together and say “I am coming,” and do it.

1882 – A saloon is to be opened in the Curtis building on Walnut Str. by David S. Mann, of Plymouth. It is said that he is a “hard Customer” physically and will run a loud place. Our temperance folks should get up a remonstrance and present it to the commissioners and prevent him from coming here. There is no use in trying to get rid of a saloon after it once gains a foothold. The only way is to tame “time by the forelock” now. A word to the wise, etc.

1883 – Helloa! The telephone is completed, and an instrument was on Tuesday placed in the Smith House, and Argos folks can now “sass back” to their pert neighbors in Plymouth to their heart’s content, provided they pay for it.

1884 – A couple of rowdies created a disturbance at the skating rink a few afternoons since. They were drunk and flourished a revolver, threatening to shoot into the rink. Their destructive propensities were appeased by the breaking of a window light, after which they moved on to seek another field of carnage. They will probably be called upon to pay for their cussedness.

1885 – The Broadway residenters are determined that their thoroughfare of high-sounding pretensions shall at least be equal in appearance to any other street in the village, and as an effort in this direction they have set out shade trees along the north side of the street. Now if those living on the opposite side will supplement this movement, in a few years Broadway will present an attractive appearance.

1886 – The threshing administered to Frank Stafford on last Saturday evening by Isaac Swihart meets with popular approval. Stafford has long posed as a “bully,” and seemingly regarded himself as invincible. He now steps down and out, and to escape the penalties of law it is supposed he “skipped by the light of the moon.” Swihart reported before Judge Wickizer’s court on Monday and paid his fine, amounting to $8. If the episode will only succeed in exiling Stafford indefinitely, the community will be the gainer thereby, and therefore not wanting those who will cheerfully refund the fine in accomplishment of such a purpose.

1887 – About 40 persons convened at the Justice’s office Wednesday evening and organized a prohibition club of about 16 members. The purpose of the club is to further the cause of temperance and prohibition, but not with its political features, so that all may take hold without prejudice and help to crush this monster evil in our vicinity and elsewhere. Come one, come all. We meet again in two weeks.

1888 – There is not a vacant house to be had in Argos, and if any additions are made to the population, it is a question as to where they would reside. New dwellings have been building every year for the past five years, and yet a few more could find occupants were they to be had. It is a settled fact that Argos is growing, and none appreciate the fact more than our citizens who have returned after an absence of a year or more. Let’er grow.

1889 – The cement walk craze has struck Argos, and a number of our citizens have had walks put down with this desirable and durable material, among them being Wm. Schoonover, Robert Railsback, M.L. Corey, and J.G. Alleman. The cost is eleven cents per square foot, or about three times as much as plank. Mr. Railsback will have over 100 feet of sidewalk of this material, abutting his property on Sugar St. The others named are lawn walks. The material makes a smooth walk as hard and durable as stone, and in the end will probably be cheaper than plank.

1890 – In the death of Noah Bartholemew, which occurred on Sunday, February 9, 1890, Marshall County loses another of her oldest settlers. The deceased came to this county from Chautauqua County, N.Y. about 1836, being then a young man, and uniting his means with those of the late Barney Corey, a quarter section of land was purchased in Green Township and held jointly by the two until the former’s death. Mr. Bartholemew remained single until he was nearly 40 years of age and continued to make his home with Mr. Corey until the former’s death. In 1863 he married the widow of the late Ransom Wiser, who survives him. Two children, a son and a daughter, were born to them, the son meeting with an accidental death about eight years ago. The deceased was 75 years of age and had lived for 50 years on the farm where he died, four and a half miles west of Argos. He was not a professor of religion, but his neighbors and friends bear testimony to the fact that a more honest, upright and honorable man was not known in this vicinity. He had been sorely afflicted for a long time previous to his death, and for the last four years had been totally blind. The funeral services were held Tuesday, at Jordon Church, and a large circle of friends by their presence attested the respect in which he was held.

1891 – Butcher’s Notice – In view of the fact that good beef cattle are getting scarce and the price consequently higher, on and after March 2d, the retail price for first cuts will be 12-1/2 cents per pound; other cuts in proportion. H.E. Starke, D. McGriff

These archives are available to the public on Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00 am until 3:45 pm in our research library. Come in any time! The Museum is located at 123 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. Call us with questions at 574-0936-2306.

A History of Extreme Weather

A History of Extreme Weather

by | Jan 15, 2026 | Argos, Disasters, General History

Indiana has had some really memorable winter seasons, but in 1816, everything went haywire. Snow in June destroyed all of the crops, it was bitterly cold on the 4thof July, and blizzards struck in August! How could that happen? The dust from Mount Tambora, which erupted in early April 1815, had covered the entire globe. With all of that volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere, the sun was blocked and that created a weather phenomenon that led to food shortages all over the world.

The fast forward about a hundred years. On January 11, 1918, Marshall County was hit with a blizzard that created travel mayhem for weeks afterward. The following is an excerpt from The Argos Reflector on January 31, 1918: “Since the big blizzard on Friday, January 11th, undertaker O.L. Grossman has had to use the bob-sleds for all funerals. January 8th was the last time that he was able to use the hearse. The north and south road to the Maple Grove Cemetery has a drift about six feet deep, the full width of the road. The rural mail carriers have been able to make only a part of their trips during the past week or more. Saturday was a hard day to get through and after another snow and heavy wind on Sunday, they decided not to try to deliver on Monday morning.  John Leland brought W.D. Corley and family to town Sunday to attend the funeral of J.S. Wickizer. They started quite early in the morning and did not arrive until about noon. It was a five-mile drive.”

The coldest day in Indiana was recorded on January 19, 1994, in New Whiteland, just south of Indianapolis– a minus 36 degrees, not including wind chill. Just for the record, an easy way to calculate wind chill is if it’s minus 5 degrees outside and the wind is blowing at 25 mph, the wind chill is minus 30 degrees.

Who remembers the winter of 1977-78? It all started on December 29, 1977. Then temperatures started dropping, and Indiana would have 34 days of below freezing temperatures. That figures out to 880 consecutive hours of cold, brrr. The arctic temperatures lasted long enough to usher in the “great blizzard of 1978.”

The first ever Blizzard Warning for the entire state of Indiana was issued at 3:45 p.m. EST on January 25th, 1978.  A heavy snow warning had been issued 12 hours earlier. Winds would approach 50 mph or more by midnight and continue through the 27th. Temperatures would plummet to a low of zero during the storm with wind chills approaching -50 degrees. Snowfall rates of nearly one half to one inch per hour were not unusual, but the duration of the heavy snow was. Significant snowfall for 30 plus hours, followed by continued cold and high winds, was a serious issue. This hampered recovery and relief efforts, leaving much of Indiana crippled for days. In areas, up to three feet of snow fell. The howling winds would push drifts up to as much as 20-25 feet. Visibilities would remain at or below one quarter mile for 25 hours.

Highways were clogged with stranded motorists. Doctors and emergency personnel were forced to reach people on skis and snowmobiles. The governor sent National Guard tanks onto I-65 to remove stranded semis. Indiana Bell was forced to halt all phone traffic but emergency calls. The governor declared a snow emergency for the entire state on the morning of the 26th. During the afternoon of the 26th, the Indiana State Police considered all Indiana roads closed. Seventy people died during the storm.

Hopefully, the winter of 2025-26 will spare us!