Family Life Along Lowell Avenue in the Early 20th Century

     William E.M. and Pearl Conner Hackleman moved into their beautiful home at 5438 Lowell Avenue in 1903. The residence was both a blend of the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. Their four children, Florence, Grace, Edwin, and Gladys spent their early years in the house. Income from Mr. Hackleman's thriving religious music company allowed the children to enjoy the comforts of middle-class American life. All of the children graduated from high school and three of them later earned college degrees. The Hacklemans moved from the home in 1922 after nineteen years of living in Irvington. Their next home was located at 1201 North Alabama Street in the Old Northside neighborhood of Indianapolis. 

Gladys and Edwin Hackleman of 5438 Lowell Avenue teeter tottered in the side yard of their property c1911. You can also see a glimpse of 5442 Lowell Avenue. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

The sandbox in the backyard at 5438 Lowell Avenue also served as an arbor during the summer months. Gladys, Grace, and Edwin Hackleman posed for the photo c1910. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Mary Jane Conner, the grandmother of the Hackleman children, enjoyed a game of croquet with her grandchildren in the side yard at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Gladys and Edwin Hackleman played with miniature train cars on their front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

The Hackleman children, Grace, Edwin (in the carriage), and Florence, posed in their backyard at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1907. Behind the children, you can see the carriage house and a residence located at 333 Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Gladys and Edwin Hackleman posed with a wagon at 5438 Lowell avenue c1911 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Edwin Hackleman posed near his front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910. Behind him, you can see the side of 5442 Lowell Avenue. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Little Gladys Hackleman sat for this snapshot on her front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

Gladys Hackleman walked with her baby doll and carriage c1911. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

Gladys Hackleman drove her toy car in front of her home at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1911. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

Florence and Gladys Hackleman stood near their front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910. Behind the kids, you can also see the residence located at 5442 Lowell Avenue. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Edwin and Grace Hackleman posed with kittens on their front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1907 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

Florence Hackleman pulled her siblings, Grace and Edwin and the family dog c1907. Behind the family, you can see the carriage house located at 5438 Lowell Avenue and a distant barn located behind 5428 Lowell Avenue. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Edwin Hackleman beamed as he posed next to his tricycle near his front porch at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1909 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

A large gathering of young girls met on the front porch at the Hackleman home at 5438 Lowell Avenue c1910. Behind the group you can also see the side of 5442 Lowell Avenue. Was this a birthday party? A Sunday School class? A Girl Scout meeting? We do not know. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

5438 Lowell Avenue c1905 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

The Hackleman siblings of 5438 Lowell Avenue (in birth order): Florence, Grace, Edwin, and Gladys c1910 (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

    I would like to thank Anne Gribble Spurgeon for the use of her images and stories. She is the great grand daughter of William Edward Michael and Pearl Conner Hackleman and the granddaughter of Gladys Hackleman and Wayne Carson. 

Burck Family Moves Near Golf Course

George and Clara Burck along with their two sons, Richard and James, moved into their beautiful Tudor-Revival home at 6120 East Ninth Street in 1937. Previous owners had struggled to sell the residence as it was at the height of the Great Depression. Perhaps the Burcks had attended one of the many realtor open houses held in the home throughout 1935. The entire family had a wonderful view of the Pleasant Run Golf Course from their front porch once they settled into their new life in the house.

The 1940 Federal Census reveals that the Burck family home was worth $9000 in that year. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burck were 39 years old while Richard was five and James was three. The couple had previously lived in a cottage on Villa Avenue near Mrs. Burck's family, the Bades.

Mr. Burck had become quite successful after going into business with his brothers. They first opened the Grand Central Garage, an auto repair shop on Central Avenue. By the 1920s, the Burck brothers formed the Tempest Manufacturing Company, a small factory that offered die-making, metal stamping along with screw machine parts and pumps. He was still involved in the business until May 18, 1962, when at age 62 he fell down the stairs in his home. His untimely death was followed shortly thereafter by Mrs. Burck's death at age 65 in 1965.

To see images of the Bade family home on Villa Avenue or images of the garage or the factory, click on the Indiana Album links below.

6120 East 9th Street in 2020

Arthur Lockwood, a golf enthusiast who managed many of the city courses, was perhaps the first to live at 6120 East 9th Street. The house sat on the open market for at least two years during the Great Depression. (ad courtesy of the Indianapolis Star, August 25, 1935)

Jim Burck shoveled his driveway at 6120 East 9th Street in the winter of 1943. Behind him, you can see the Oliver Perry and Elnora Ghere residence at 6126 East 9th Street. Mr. Ghere collected antique music boxes from all over the world, so the Ghere home was constantly filled with unusual sounds! (photo courtesy of Christina Burck) 

To see an image of Mrs. Burck's childhood home on Villa Avenue, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/4513E432-97F4-4AF2-9D2D-742324439035

To see an image of the Grand Central Garage on Central Avenue, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/3F1ABCF2-E6E5-4AFD-A380-164921214573

To see an image of the Tempest Manufacturing Company, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/98BA68CE-60D6-452B-B5CF-642877634941

I wish to thank Christina L. Burck for stories and photos about her family. 

Sources:  Obituary of George Burck, Indianapolis Star, May 27, 1962, 53; Information on the Ghere family:  "Oliver Ghere Made Hobby of Music Boxes," Indianapolis News, March 191, 1954, 13.

Early Photos of an Irvington Avenue Home

Florence and Marcia Doan, who grew up at 47 North Irvington Avenue, frequently played in the lot north of their home. Their father, Wilson Doan, was a prominent attorney who later sold one of his lots to his law partner, Charles Orbison around 1906. Before the sale of the lot, the Doans enjoyed the use of the wide open space. Photographs from 1903-05 show the girls playing in the lot with other neighborhood children and even enjoying a horse-driven wagon ride. Behind the kids in most of the photos, you can see the home of Jesse and Sarah Josephine Stuart Lowes at 59 North Irvington Avenue.

Jesse Lowes and Sarah Stuart married on November 23, 1892. Shortly after their marriage, the couple moved into their Irvington home around 1895. It is not known at this time if they built the house or if they are the second owners. The Indianapolis Journal noted in a "Society" snip in 1896 that the couple hosted some of Sarah's family from Acton, Indiana on Elm Avenue, the former name of Irvington Avenue. The couple had one daughter, Eunice Isabella, who likely played with Florence and Marcia next door.

Mr. Lowes first tried his luck as a grocer at 203 South Audubon Road along with Arthur L. Porter, but that partnership dissolved in 1900. He also became active in Republican Party politics and was one of the founders of the Irvington Republican Party Club. He worked for various Senators and even sold his Irvington Avenue home and moved to Washington DC with his family around 1905 to work in the US Senate. Upon his return to Indianapolis, the voters of Warren Township elected him as their Assessor in the 1920s.

Mrs. Lowes made headlines years later in 1925 when she testified at the murder trial of D.C. Stephenson, who was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. At the time, the Lowes lived on Hibben Avenue just behind the Stephenson home. Mrs. Lowes testified that she heard the screams of Madge Oberholtzer in the middle of night on March 17, 1925, along with the sounds of barking dogs, which belonged to Stephenson. Her testimony along with many others helped to convict the Klansman of murder.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Lowes passed away in 1945 while their daughter, Eunice, who married Kenneth Johnson, died in 1990 at the age of 97. Their former home at 59 North Irvington Avenue was later enlarged and cut into apartments. To learn about another family, who lived in the house from the 1920s to the 1940s, click on "Adams Family" link below.

Marcia and Florence Doan gathered on the front porch at 59 North Irvington Avenue c1904. The older lady is possibly Sarah Lowes and the young girl next to her is possibly Eunice Isabella Lowes.
(Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan, who is standing barefooted in the tall grass next to her home at 47 North Irvington Avenue pulls her sister Marcia and an unidentified boy in a wagon. Behind the kids, you can see an empty lot and the Lowes family home at 59 North Irvington Avenue in June of 1903. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Marcia and Florence Doan, who lived at 47 North Irvington Avenue, posed in their side yard c1904. Behind the girls, you can see the Lowes home at 59 North Irvington Avenue complete with a windmill under construction in the backyard. In the far distance you can see the Ingersoll residence that used to stand at 5408 Lowell Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan pushes her sister Marcia in a wheelbarrow next to their family's home at 47 North Irvington Avenue (then called 27 North Elm Avenue) c1903. Behind the girls, you can 59 North Irvington Avenue (then called 37 North Elm Avenue). Jessse and Sarah Lowes lived in that house along with their daughter Eunice. Across the street, you can see the cottage located at 72 North Irvington Avenue. That house has been greatly modified over the years. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Tall grass and weeds stands on an empty lot behind the Doan sisters on a summer's day most likely in 1903. The house most visible in the photo is that of 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

On a wintry day, the Doan sisters posed for a photograph near their front porch at 47 North Irvington Avenue c1903. Behind the sisters, you can see the house at 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

59 North Irvington has been enlarged over the years and converted into apartments. (photo taken in the winter of 2020)

    To see more images from the Indiana Album, click on the link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages

I wish to thank Jim and Ann Brown for their wonderful hospitality and assistance with these posts and the Indiana Album, a digital museum dedicated to capturing images from throughout the state including Irvington.

Sources:  1900 Federal Census; Obituary for Jesse Lowes, Indianapolis News, March 3, 1945, 14; Early house--Indianapolis Journal, July 19, 1896, 13; Mr. Lowes jobs--Indianapolis News, February 3, 1900, 13; Indianapolis News, December 15, 1903, 3; Mrs. Lowes and DC Stephenson Trial--Noblesville Ledger, November 3, 1925, 2.

Daily Life at Pleasant Run Home

The Doran children, who used to live at 737 North Campbell Avenue, suddenly had plenty of room in which to play or work on cars after they moved into 5770 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Wilbur and Julia Cooper Doran commissioned a local architect, Orlando Little, to design their new home on the parkway in 1949. It was completed in the summer of 1950. In the images below, Jim and Phil Doran and a friend named Dick Foley can be seen working on Jim's 1937 Opel in 1954. In a stunning color slide photograph, a very young Miriam Doran, enjoyed a day out on her bike in front of the family home in 1951.

Jim Doran and Dick Foley worked on the engine of his 1954 Opel while Phil Doran assisted with the ignition next to the family garage at 5770 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. (photo courtesy of Kevin Yamafuji)

Backyard Scene: Jim and Phil Doran and Dick Foley worked on a 1937 Opel on the driveway at 5770 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in 1954. What Hoosier driveway would be complete without a basketball goalpost and net? (photo courtesy of Kevin Yamafuji)

Miriam Doran enjoys a day out on her bike in 1951 in front of the family home at 5770 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. (photo courtesy of Kevin Yamafuji)

5770 East Pleasant Run Parkway was built for the Doran family in 1950. (photo courtesy of Kevin Yamafuji)

I wish to thank Miriam Lash, Jennifer Lash, Susan Boyle, Jim Doran, Alicia Schwering, and Kevin Yamafuji for making this post possible. 

Caldwell Family Resided at the Audubon Court Apartments from 1927-1932

Howard C. and Elsie Felt Caldwell along with their two children, Martha Virginia and Howard, Jr., moved into the Audubon Court Apartments in 1927. Mr. Caldwell was the president of the Caldwell-Baker Advertising Agency. They resided in #4 fronting Audubon Road. Mrs. Caldwell stayed home and raised the two young children. Living nearby were two great friends, Joseph and Guinevere Ostrander and their daughter Nancy. Howard, Jr. reported later, in a reminiscence about his childhood, that he was always surrounded by books and friends. Reading and later writing came naturally to the young boy as he excelled at both School #57 and later Howe High School. When the Great Depression took a toll on the country, the Caldwells left the apartment and moved back in with his mother, Martha Caldwell, at 30 North Bosart Avenue to help save money during the lean times. By the end of the 1930s, Howard Sr.'s thriftiness paid off as the family moved into their very own home at 81 North Hawthorne Lane.

     To learn more about the Ostrander family, click on the link  below. 

Audubon Court Apartment #4 in 2019

Eva Ruth Ham, who was raised in the Ostrander home posed with Howard Caldwell, Jr., and Nancy Ostrander in 1929 at the Audubon Court Apartments.  (photo courtesy of Ginny Hingst)

Sources:  Howard Caldwell, "Off Handed Remark Leads to Literary Growth," Indianapolis Prime Times, January 2003, 3;  Howard Caldwell, "Recalling School 57 and 'Schoolboy' Crush," Indianapolis Prime Times, September 2003, 5.

I am indebted to Ginny Hingst for the use of her family photos and artifacts.

Kids Photographed Along St. Clair Street 1948

Sometime in the winter of 1948, Ann Schmidt and her good friend, Marcia Shick, grabbed their cameras and snapped photos of their little brothers and sisters next to the Schmidt family Buick parked near St. Clair Street. Ann Schmidt lived at 5702 East Pleasant Run Run Parkway North Drive and Marcia Shick lived nearby at 5728 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. The car in the photos belonged to Dr. Henry Schmidt. For many years the frugal optometrist took the streetcar or other modes of transportation to work. After World War II ended, he decided to buy the used Buick seen in the photos. In some of the images, you can see the rear of the residences at 804 and 814 North Audubon Road.

Maureen Schmidt, Marcia Shick, and Ann Schmidt posed next to the Schmidt family Buick in the driveway at 5702 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in the winter of 1948. Behind the kids, you can see the rear and side of the Vroom family home at 814 North Audubon Road. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Carl and Maureen Schmidt posed with their neighbor Peter Shick in 1948. The kids are standing next to the Schmidt family Buick at 5702 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Marcia Shick photographed Peter Shick, Carl Schmidt, and Maureen Schmidt at 5702 East Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Behind the kids, you can see the rear of 804 and 814 North Audubon Road. Ann Schmidt likely took this photo of her friend snapping this picture in the winter of 1948. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Editor's Note: 5702 East Pleasant Run Parkway is now numbered as 5701 East St. Clair Street. I would like to thank Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw for their contributions to this series. 

Historic Wallpaper Revealed

Sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s, Dr. Henry Schmidt of 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive put up wallpaper in the family's dining room.  Early Americana on wallpaper was quite popular in the mid-twentieth century. Dr. Schmidt likely purchased the mass-produced mural from a local store or a catalog. For years, members of the Schmidt family treasured the scene. In the tableaux, you can see a two-story colonial home surrounded by shrubbery and a fence. In front of the house and along the road, people sit in a horse-drawn carriage. Nearby, you can see a church steeple. The idealized image is similar to the earlier and popular Currier and Ives prints of the late nineteenth century. As the image began to fade, members of the family carefully and artfully touched up the colors. Thankfully, the Schmidt family documented the wall as the mural-paper was later removed.   (Editor's Note: The address of 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive changed to 5701 East St. Clair Street in the mid-1960s.)

Carl and Pat Schmidt posed in the dining room at the Schmidt family home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive c1947. Dr. Henry Schmidt most likely put up the wallpaper in the early 1940s. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Dr. Henry Schmidt posed with his son Carl c1946 in the dining room at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Behind them you can see interesting mural-wallpaper. It has since been removed. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Annabelle Early posed with her great grandchildren c1975 in her daughter's home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive (later changed to 5701 East St. Clair Street) Behind the group, you can see the beautiful wallpaper in the dining room. Family members treasured the scene and touched it up as it began to fade. The children in the photograph are: seated in the chair-- Shannon Foley; seated at the table--Chris and Debbie Schmidt (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw) 

Little research seems to have been done on mass-produced twentieth century wallpaper, but the Old House Journal did publish an interesting overview recently. I have included that link. I am indebted to Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw for providing the stories and photos.

https://www.oldhouseonline.com/interiors-and-decor/guide-to-20th-century-wallpaper

Winter Scenes Along Pleasant Run Parkway

Winter in Irvington has always been a beautiful time to grab the camera and capture the newly-fallen snow. The Schmidts, who dwelled at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive, filled their scrapbooks to document these moments. Dr. Henry and Isabelle Early Schmidt moved into the house in the latter part of 1937 and immediately fell in love with the acreage on a winter's day. Their children, Ann, Maureen, Carl, Pat, and Jill had the perfect sledding hill as the property sat high above the Pleasant Run stream.  Fallen logs, gorgeous evergreens, and even their pretty bungalow all provided opportunities to capture the serene quiet around them.

The Schmidt home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive on a winter's day in 1938. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Time to sled! Dr. Henry Schmidt posed next to Beverly Spencer and Ann Schmidt on a winter's day in 1938.  The Schmidts resided at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Beverly Spencer and Ann Schmidt enjoyed a winter day in 1938

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Dr. Henry Schmidt posed with Maureen and Ann Schmidt on November 11, 1941. Behind the family, you can see their residence at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Some elm trees still existed on the lot during this era. Most elms across the United States were dying off in record numbers.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

The side porch at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in the winter of 1938.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Beautiful newly-fallen snow on evergreen trees at the Schmidt home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive c1938.

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Looking South: In this image, you can see the long driveway leading up to 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive c1944. In the distance, you can see Pleasant Run Parkway

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

A winter storm at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive c1950

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in 1979. It was now numbered as 5701 E. St. Clair Street

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

5701 E. St. Clair Street (formerly 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive) c1990

(Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

I am indebted to Ann Schmidt Brown and her daughter, Doreen McGuire Crenshaw, for opening their scrapbooks and memories for this post.

Editor's Note: 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway is now numbered as 5701 E. St. Clair Street. 

A Perfect Place to Grow up

When Dr. Henry and Isabelle Early Schmidt purchased 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in 1937, they only had one child. Over the course of a decade they would add four more. Ann, Maureen, Carl, Pat, and Jill Schmidt had the perfect yard for a playground. In the winter, they could sled down the giant hill in their front yard. In the warmer seasons, they could explore the woods and nearby Pleasant Run. Family pets also had plenty of acreage in which to run. Photos taken in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s reveal some of the fun that children had while living on the property.

Ann Schmidt provided milk for Teddy on a warm summer day in 1939 at her home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Dress Up: Ann Schmidt had fun in her "new" adult clothes in July of 1940 at her home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Behind her, you can see the barberry bush that used to be on the property for decades. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

"General" Tobias T. Smith greeted Paul Schmidt and his daughter Barbara in 1937.  Paul was the brother of Henry Schmidt. Although General had plenty of acreage in which to roam, he preferred the entirety of the neighborhood frequently causing problems for the family who had to retrieve him.  (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Ann Schmidt remained a dog lover for her entire life. In this photo, snapped in 1947, she posed with Rags on the family property at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Rags loved to nip at people's feet. He was especially interested in their shoestrings. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Cute little Pat Schmidt posed in her bedroom in the attic at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive in 1951. Ann Schmidt, her older sister, likely took this image. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Carl Schmidt went for a bike ride in 1950. In this photo, he posed along the Schmidt family driveway at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive. Behind him, you can see the doghouse. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

Carl Schmidt posed for this photo along the sidewalk at the Schmidt family home at 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive c1951. Behind him, you can see a family car. (Photo courtesy of Ann Schmidt Brown and Doreen McGuire Crenshaw)

. 
Editor's Note: The address of 5702 Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive changed to 5701 E. St. Clair Street in the mid-1960s. 

I wish to thank Ann Schmidt Brown and her daughter Doreen McGuire Crenshaw for their kindness in allowing me to scan photos from their scrapbooks.