In the Shade of the Kile Oak

In the Shade of the Kile Oak

By RoseAnn O'Connor Linder

Editor's Note: I am particularly indebted to RoseAnn O'Connor Linder for her stories and photos about life along Beechwood Avenue. She has captured a snapshot in time. Neighbors along this street will be very interested to read about the folks who used to reside here. 

The O'Connors moved into 5956 Beechwood Avenue in 1946. In 1950, they posed on their front porch to mark the first communion for RoseAnn O'Connor. Pictured: (top) John and Della Wheat O'Connor; (bottom) RoseAnn and Jeanne O'Connor (photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

My name is RoseAnn O'Connor Linder and I was asked to write about growing up in Irvington in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. I was born on July 27, 1944, to John and Della Wheat O'Connor. I first went home to live at 2143 North Alabama Street with my sister Jeanne, who was four years older, and several of my aunts and uncles. 

In the spring of 1946, my parents bought a small white frame house at 5956 Beechwood Avenue across from Miss Mae Kile and her now famous oak tree. Miss Kile was an "elderly" lady by then in her 70s, the same age I am now. She was living in the house her father had built at 5939 Beechwood Avenue. Her home had no electricity, indoor plumbing, central heating, or a telephone. Her outhouse was a frequent target for teenaged boys around Halloween. She cooked with a wood or coal stove. It seemed her yard held every species of tree native to Indiana. Elementary children in the third grade at School #85 toured her yard every year to collect leaves for a school project. At the time of her death, there were only great nieces and nephews living in California. The family held an auction and my mother purchased what is known as a Martha Washington Sewing Cabinet, which I still have. The house was eventually torn down and now her property is a pocket park.

The Kile Home as it appeared in the early 1970s (photo courtesy of Chuck McCleery)

Mae Kile was not the only "eccentric" elderly lady living in the neighborhood. Miss Lucille Morehouse lived next door at 5958 Beechwood Avenue. She wrote for the Indianapolis Star. She kept a copy of every newspaper in which her column appeared--not just the column, but the entire newspaper!

On the west side of us, lived the Justice family at 5952 Beechwood Avenue. Earl and Betty Justice had two boys, Mike and Johnny. Our two houses had been built at the same time by the same builder so we shared a cinder driveway. I still have a few specks on my left knee from a nasty fall on that driveway. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, an older couple with no children, lived at 5948 Beechwood Avenue. Ruby Gray lived at 5940 Beechwood Avenue and the Ruedlingers, who had several children our age, resided at 5936 Beechwood Avenue. Across the street, the Wolven family lived at 5959 Beechwood Avenue. They had a daughter named Rosalie, who was the same age as my sister Jeanne. The older Wolven boys helped their father with his hauling business. Their grandmother lived in a little house behind the main house. Directly across from us at 5949 Beechwood was Beatrice Wilson and two other maiden ladies, all retired school teachers. This large two-story house had columns and was surrounded by a picket fence. When the last of those ladies died, the Boerger family bought it. They had two children our ages named Jeff and Joanie.

John, Della, and RoseAnn O'Connor posed after a snowstorm in 1957. Behind them, you can see the bungalows at 5952 and 5948 Beechwood Avenue. (photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

Beatrice Wilson and retired school teachers lived in this large house at 5949 Beechwood Avenue in the 1940s. Later the Boergers and McCleerys resided here. In the winter of 1957, a member of the McCleery family snapped this beautiful photograph. (photo courtesy of Chuck McCleery)  

RoseAnn and Jeanne O'Connor posed after a winter storm in front of their childhood home at 5956 Beechwood Avenue in 1957 (Photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

Jerrilyn Sherrard and RoseAnn O'Connor posed in the backyard of the Sherrard home at 388 South Arlington Avenue. The backyards of the two girls abutted so it was easy to gather to play. The photo was likely snapped in either 1950 or 1951. (Photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

"Trouble Looking for a Place to Happen:" The Beechwood crew gathered on the steps of the O'Connor home at 5956 Beechwood Avenue in 1947. Pictured--Top: Mike Justice, Jeanne O'Connor; Middle: Judy Orr, Bea Ruedlinger, Rose Mary Zimmerman; Bottom Row: RoseAnn O'Connor, Leonard Ruedlinger, and Joanne Zimmerman. The Zimmerman children lived on Rawles Avenue behind the Kile home. (Photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

My father, John O'Connor, was an accountant for the Potter Material Services from 1951 to 1959. He left to become the chief deputy for David Finney in the Marion County Assessor's Office from 1959 through 1963. He was active with the Democratic Party as a precinct committeeman. I remember going door to door with him to register new voters.  He later worked as an auditor for the Indianapolis Housing Authority until the time of his death on January 29, 1967, at the age of 52. My mother, Della Wheat O'Connor, was housewife. She was a fantastic cook, an amazing seamstress, and she served as a Brownie and Girl Scout leader for both Jeanne and I. 

We did most of our grocery shopping at the Regal Store on South Audubon Road. The Omar man delivered bread and other baked goods to our home while a milkman from Polk's delivered dairy products. I still have the tall green iced tea glasses that the cottage cheese came in. Across the street at Miss Kile's house, the iceman delivered large chunks of ice for her icebox in a horse-drawn wagon with leather curtains and later in a motorized pick-up truck. In those days, the iceman would give the children chips of ice. We used to wait for him just as we did the ice cream man.

We did not have a car for much my pre-high school childhood so we walked or rode the bus. We ran the wheels off of our red wagon as we used it so often. One year, the Boy Scouts sold Christmas trees at School #85 just north of us, so we brought the tree home in the wagon. Downtown Irvington was thriving during my childhood. We had a bank, two drugstores, two hardware stores, a movie theater, an appliance store, Chailles Shoe Store, a bookstore where I bought my Nancy Drew books, and a bridal shop where I later paid $50 for my wedding dress. 

Jeanne and I both attended Our Lady Lourdes and Scecina High School. I remember when they tore down the old grade school in the spring of 1958 and replaced it with a modern building. I graduated from high school in 1962.

In the summer of 1957, several friends gathered on the front lawn of the O'Connor home at 5956 Beechwood Avenue. Pictured: (Top) Carol Biemer; (Middle) Carolyn Koesters, Barb Strange, Kathy McCoy; (Front) Jeanne O'Connor (Photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

Members of the KEZ club from Scecina High School gathered in Jeanne O'Conner's living room at Christmas time in 1956. RoseAnn Linder reports that the lamp on the table near the window was a wedding gift for her parents. Mrs. Linder still possesses that lamp. Pictured: (back) Carol Biemer, Jeanne O'Connor; (middle) Carolyn Koesters, Sussanne Dufour, Janice Meyer; (front) Barb Strange (Photo courtesy of RoseAnn Linder)

Tragedy struck our family on October 21, 1957. Jeanne had gone to work at Woolworth's Store in the new Eastgate Mall. We had a car by that time and Daddy usually picked her up after work, but this was a Monday so he was at the Knights of Columbus meeting. On these occasions, Mom and I would walk up Arlington Avenue to meet her at Washington Street as she got off the bus. We met up and as we were nearing our home, a drunk driver on Arlington Avenue lost control of his car, jumped the curb, and struck us. Jeanne was dead at the scene. I was unconscious and Mom nearly out of her mind. It was two days after Jeanne's 17th birthday. She was a senior at Scecina High School and would have graduated in 1958. I was 13 at the time. 

During my junior year in high school, Mom announced that she was pregnant. My little sister, Cathy, was born on January 18, 1961. What a delight she has been in my life. She lived a very different childhood from mine. Most of the old neighbors had been replaced except for Miss Kile, who had become more reclusive. When Cathy was six, Daddy died. Mom did a fantastic job of raising her. Mom sold our house in the mid-1980s and died on November 13, 2001.  

Little Flower in the 1950s

The Little Flower neighborhood sits north and west of Irvington.  It has been a stable area since the first people started building small bungalows there in the 1910s.  Named after the Catholic Church along North Bosart Avenue, the community has been home to thousands of families over the years who started housekeeping in the modest dwellings.  Many of these families remained in the area for years and in some cases generations.

In the 1950s, the neighborhood was still filled with original families who had built small homes along streets like Wallace Avenue.  In 1927, Leo and Helen Erb's home at 1025 North Wallace Avenue was completed.  The couple raised their children in the house. Next door at 1027 dwelled Solomon Erb, the father of Leo and grandfather to several nearby kids.  The elder Mr. Erb passed away in 1944 so by by the early 1950s, Elmer and Gertrude Harmon owned the bungalow.  Norman and Lucy Wilson lived in 1101 North Wallace Avenue and had since its completion in 1928.  Mr. Wilson was an office manager for the Steckle Steam Specialties Company.  The Wilsons and Erbs would have known each other for nearly thirty years when these photos were snapped in early 1950s. People like the Erbs, Harmons, and Wilsons maintained their modest homes and kept up their small lots.  They planted trees and lovely flowers.  While many residents dashed to the suburbs, these families continued to dwell here well into the 1970s in some cases.

New generations are moving into the Little Flower neighborhood.  They seemed to have the same pride as the founders. They have a neighborhood association and residents still maintain their cottages and small lots.   Although many of the homes have been altered or enlarged over the years, the Erbs, Harmons, and Wilsons would have no trouble recognizing their stomping grounds in 2014.

Helen and Leo Erb standing in the backyard of 1025 North Wallace Avenue in 1952

Betty Jean, Kenneth, and little Ricky Erb in 1951 on the porch at 1025 North Wallace Avenue

Betty Jean, Kenneth, and little Randy Erb standing in front of 1025 North Wallace Avenue 1953.  Behind them, you can see 1027 and 1101 North Wallace Avenue.  Note that tulips are blooming in front of the spirea bushes.  

1025, 1027, and 1101 North Wallace Avenue in 2014

Erb home at 1025 North Wallace Avenue in 2014

The historic images are courtesy of Rick Erb via Ancestry.com.  

Little Flower Catholic School Graduation--1930

Eastside Indianapolis Roman Catholics had few options in the early twentieth century. St. Philip Neri opened its parish doors in 1908 followed by Our Lady of Lourdes in Irvington in 1909.  As more Catholics moved into neighborhoods surrounding Irvington, the need for more churches grew.  In 1926, the Archdioceses of Indianapolis opened the St. Therese Little Flower School and parish. Located at 1401 North Bosart Avenue, the school serviced congregants in the Little Flower and Emerson Heights neighborhoods. Some Warren Township farmers sent their children to the school as well.  Like many Catholic schools, the institution educated children until the eighth grade.  In this photo, taken in 1930, Father Doyle (later Monsignor John J. Doyle) and Father Duffy posed with eight graduates.  Most of the kids lived nearby.  Albert Berlier's family had a rural route address and lived north of 13th Street along Arlington Avenue.  George Marter traveled from Chester Avenue while Fred Ward dwelled nearby on Colorado Avenue.  Ralph Robisch could have easily walked to school from his home at 904 North Emerson Avenue.  Cecelia Wilson's home remains a mystery, but Louise Hansman dwelled at 4608 East 10th Street.  Her family kept this photo and later posted it on Ancestry.com.  Marie Parks lived in a beautiful brick home at 1115 North Leland Avenue.  Helen Hall commuted from Grant Avenue.  Many of the children came from large families whose brothers and sisters attended Little Flower School.

Little Flower 8th Grade Graduates in 1930

 This photo is courtesy of the descendants of the Hansman family via Ancestry.com.  

These Scouts Were Prepared!

Eight scouts from Mr. Smith's Sunday School class at the Irvington Presbyterian Church went on an adventure sometime in the summer of 1910.  The young men ranged in age from 10 to 12 and dwelled in southern Irvington.  In the top row, starting at the left, John Wamsley (5718 Oak Avenue) stared pensively at the photographer.  He was one of the few boys not holding a prop.  Next to him, Walter McCoy proudly held a baseball for a future game.  In the middle, a formidable Albert Stone (5927 Rawles Avenue) grasped a gun for the hunt. Next to him, Harold Wilson (5907 Rawles Avenue) displayed an unidentifiable object, and at the end of the row sat Raymond Woods. (308 South Audubon Road) In the front row, Bud Bunnell (5919 Rawles Avenue) practiced tying knots for all to see.  Smiling Walter Porter (342 South Arlington Avenue) was ready for a game of football, while Clyde McVey (211 Good Avenue) showed off the troop knife.

It is unclear as to where the boys gathered on that lovely day.  Behind them, you can see a small cottage and a swing dangles from a high branch.  Over one hundred years ago, a group of Irvington kids sat under a tall tree...

This image is courtesy of Bill Ferling and the Irvington Presbyterian Church.

Lost Irvington--287 South Downey Avenue

The large Victorian home at 287 South Downey Avenue (first home on the left) had sat along this meandering street since perhaps the late nineteenth century.  The 1900 Census noted that Omar and Mary Wilson dwelled there when the address used to be 355.  Mr. Wilson was a local teacher and would have likely known the very elderly Allen Benton, who dwelled across the street in what is today the Benton House Museum.  The Wilsons took in two "wards," Ralph (age 2) and Dorothy (age 1).  By 1909, Samuel and Minnie Hull moved in along with their teenaged daughter, Clara.  Mr. Hull operated a business along Bonna Avenue in between South Audubon Road and Ritter Avenue.  He sold coal, cement blocks, porch columns, gravel, and sand.  By the mid-1910s the home was once again back on the market.  For the next forty years, the dwelling would serve as a rental for the middle class.  J.W. Friday served as the agent for the home.  On July 5 and November 8, 1914, Mr. Friday placed ads in the Indianapolis Star announcing that the nine-room house could be let for the high price of $35 a month. (typical rents were around $15 a month) The large dwelling also came with an acre of ground.  By November 21, 1920, the rent had gone up to $50 a month.

By the mid-1950s, Murray and Ila Garland moved into the house.  They would be the last family to spend any time in the dwelling.  Mr. Garland's untimely death, likely placed a hardship upon his widow, but she continued to live on in the house working as a department manager and buyer for both Levi Strauss & Co. and the Wm. Block Co.  By 1969, the Reverend Spencer and Margaret Austin purchased the house.  For reasons yet unknown, the Austins tore down the old place in 1969 and built a home in the style of a southern plantation.  The Reverend Austin did keep the oak posts from the interior staircase and fashioned them into suitcase holders. A very young nearby neighbor, Stephen Enz, recalled playing in the newly dug up foundation for the future home at 287 Downey Avenue.

The star of this photo was the 1964 GTO belonging to Doug McLean, who dwelled across the street in 1966 when the this shot was snapped by a young Chuck McCleery.  Behind the GTO, loomed the now-forgotten structure at 287 South Downey Avenue.  A current photo, shows the newer home on the site on September 5, 2013.

Cool car and forgotten home:  A GTO sits in the driveway of Doug McLean at 266 South Downey Avenue.  Across the street, you can see 287 South Downey Avenue in 1966.  (first house on left)

287, 303, and 317 South Downey in 1966

287 South Downey Avenue in 2013.  

The photo and stories for this post are courtesy of Chuck McCleery, Stephen Enz, and Jack Austin.