Over 100-Year-Old Halloween Party Invitation

      During the autumn of 1919, twenty-two-year old Margaret Striebeck wrote out Halloween invitations for the children who attended the Tuxedo Park Baptist Church at 29 North Grant Avenue. Miss Striebeck, who lived with her parents in their Emerson Heights bungalow at 606 North Bosart Avenue (formerly numbered as 530), was on the cusp of her long teaching career for the Indianapolis Public Schools. She grew up on Pine Street near what is today called the Cottage Home neighborhood, but by the time she was in her late teens, her parents had moved to their brand new bungalow on Bosart Avenue. Miss Striebeck not only lived the rest of her life at the Bosart home, but remained a life-long member of the church as it was even mentioned in her obituary in 1976. 

     The invitation has survived through the years because it was never given out. Perhaps she wrote out too many cards or perhaps she was unhappy with the blemish on the back of the invitation. 

Invitation for a Halloween Party at the Tuxedo Park Baptist Church on October 28, 1919 (Margaret Striebeck Collection) 

Miss Margaret Striebeck (1897-1976) lived most of her life at 606 North Bosart Avenue. She taught for 34 years at School 54 (3150 East 10th St.) and School 15 (2302 East Michigan Street). She retired in 1959. (Margaret Striebeck Collection) 

Miss Striebeck was a life-long member of the Tuxedo Baptist Church located at 29 North Grant Avenue just west of Irvington. (photo Google Earth, June, 2011)

Source: "Miss Striebeck Services Thursday, " Indianapolis Star, December 1, 1976, 65.

Visitors Arrive at the Striebeck Home c1945

Teacher, Margaret Striebeck, lived a full life.  Her scrapbooks reveal that the single woman traveled with friends all over the United States.  She also entertained friends at her home at 606 North Bosart Avenue in Emerson Heights.  In these candid photos, two of her friends posed in the backyard of the Striebeck home.  Behind the unidentified women you can see the rear of the dwellings at 602 and 528 North Bosart.  The photos were likely shot in the month of May as it appears that both phlox and peonies are blooming or about to bloom.  These photos are from the Margaret Striebeck collection.

Mr. Striebeck and His Amazing Pet Squirrel

After he retired as a plasterer, Harry Striebeck settled down to a quiet life with his wife Elizabeth and adult daughter, Margaret, at his home at 606 North Bosart Avenue in Emerson Heights.  Mr. Striebeck kept a meticulous yard and even trained a squirrel as a beloved pet.  In these photos, taken c1945, Mr. Striebeck sits or stands in his backyard with his well-heeled squirrel.  In the top two photos, Mr. Striebeck relaxes next to his garage in the backyard.  Behind him, vines are beginning to grow up his trellises.  In front of him, sits the family lawnmower.  In the third photo, the elderly man stands and feeds his squirrel, which is perched on the family lawn chair.  Behind Mr. Striebeck, you can see the rear of 606 and 610 North Bosart Avenue.  Note the awnings on the windows and the broom hanging from the back porch of his neighbor's home.  A metal tub sits atop the cistern and is apparently filled with flowers.  This little slice of life was recently developed from some negatives from the collection belonging to Margaret Striebeck.  Miss Striebeck passed away in 1976.

Harry Striebeck and his new friend c1945 in the backyard and next to the garage at 606 N. Bosart Avenue

Squirrel on the lap of Harry Striebeck (606 N. Bosart) c1945

Harry Striebeck feeds a pet squirrel. Behind him, you can see both 606 and 610 North Bosart Avenue c1945

The Striebecks of Bosart Avenue

Harry and Elizabeth Boller Striebeck, both the children of German immigrants, dwelled in the Cottage Home (formerly called Noble's Farm or Subdivision) neighborhood just east of downtown Indianapolis. They lived in the Boller home on Pine Street until shortly after the death of her father.  By 1916, the couple had saved up enough money to build a small, but beautiful two-bedroom home at 606 North Bosart Avenue (formerly 530 North Bosart) in the new streetcar suburb of Emerson Heights, just west of Irvington.  Their only child, Margaret, was 19 years-old at the time and was beginning her training towards becoming a teacher.  By 1923, Margaret served as an elementary instructor for the Indianapolis Public Schools. She would live out the remainder of her life in the home on Bosart.  Her father, a plasterer, helped to build the French Lick Hotel in southern Indiana.  Her mother kept house while both Harry and Margaret were away at work.  Miss Striebeck touched hundreds of lives over the years as a teacher.  After both of her parents passed away, she continued to dwell in the house until her death in 1976.

With no heirs, her lovely home filled with antiques, became a rental.  The old furniture and her mementos were relegated to an unfinished attic where they remained for years. Various leasers over the decades, sold or took some from her collection.  In 1993, one of the renters approached me with a box filled with photos and artifacts from Miss Striebeck's life.  They were going to throw the items in the trash.  I took the collection and have held onto it for many years.  Recently, I had some of her negatives developed and I have tried to track down people in some of the photos and Christmas cards that she saved.  Most of us don't get remembered for very long.  Within a few generations, we are usually forgotten unless someone comes looking for us.  Miss Striebeck, with no children of her own, has likely lived on in the memories of her former students, who are also now reaching their elder years. Many have likely already passed.   Miss Striebeck, you are not forgotten.  I never knew you, but your letters and notes reveal that you were loved as a teacher and as a friend.  I dedicate this post to your memory.

In the top image, Harry and Elizabeth Striebeck along with their daughter, Margaret posed next to the side of their home at 606 North Bosart Avenue.  You can also see the bungalow at 602 North Bosart.  The photo was likely taken around 1945.  In the second photo, shot around the same time, Margaret Striebeck stands in her backyard next to the garage.  Behind her you can see the rear of 606 N. Bosart.  A cement sistern sits on the ground near the home.  It is clearly a cool day with leaves not yet raked at her feet.  The final two photos show her classroom in an unidentified IPS school.  Be sure to note her beautiful handwriting and the words that students had to use for their assignment.  The classroom is very clean.  The desks are polished and it might be around Halloween based upon some of the decorations in the room.  The photos along the chalk ledge in one of the pictures indicate that the images may have been taken around 1940.

Elizabeth, Harry, and Margaret Striebeck at 606 North Bosart Avenue c1945

Teacher, Margaret Striebeck stands in her backyard at 606 North Bosart Avenue c1945

Miss Striebeck's classroom in an unidentified Indianapolis Public School c1940

Beautiful handwriting on the chalkboard is that of Miss Margaret Striebeck, who taught in this unidentified Indianapolis Public School (c1940)