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.

Phoenix Rising Along East Washington Street

For two years, the neighborhood has held its breath.  Would the former Irvington Post Office/Hook's Drug Store survive another year?  In near ruinous condition due to poor stewardship, the structure had deteriorated rapidly.   Thankfully, the Irvington Development Corporation and the Irvington Historical Society partnered to save the structure.  They bought the building and found grant money to stabilize it. This week, workers have removed the roof and shored up the walls.  They are in the process of rebuilding the second floor and will soon rebuild the roof.  I commend the leaders of these two organizations for having the foresight and the will to save a piece of Irvington's heritage.  This is certainly a great day for Irvington and the commercial corridor along East Washington Street.

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)

Children Gather Along Ritter Avenue c1908

These beautiful shots of children dressed in their Sunday finest, shows many neighborhood children on the front lawns of 60, 66, 65, and 67 North Ritter Avenue c1908. The only houses visible in the photos are those of 65 and 67 North Ritter.  You will note that the city was beginning to brick the street.  Two of the girls in the photos are likely Helen and Margaret Hackleman who were born at 28 North Ritter, but grew up next door at 34 North Ritter.  Their Aunt Ida and Uncle George Russell dwelled just a few houses north at 60 North Ritter.

Neighborhood children gathered for a photo on the front yard of either 60 or 66 North Ritter Avenue c1908

Children playing (c1908) at 60 or 66 North Ritter Avenue

Children sit on bricks in front of 67 and 65 North Ritter Avenue

Thaddeus and Jennie Major dwelled at 67 North Ritter in 1908.  They had two children, Bonnie, who would later become a teacher, and Carl.  Mr. Major was both a contractor and accountant at different points in his life. Mrs. Major was an active club woman and frequently hosted the Daughters of the American Revolution in her home.  One of the highlights of their time at 67 North Ritter came on August 14, 1913, with the marriage of their daughter Bonnie to Irvington resident, Louis Richardson. The newlyweds moved into the house and would remain for the rest of their lives.

The Major Home in the winter of 2012.  Note that a brick porch has been added most likely in the 1920s.

Next door at 65 North Ritter, the elderly David Robertson, lived with several of his adult children. One of his sons, Dr. J. Frank Robertson practiced medicine at 2313 East Michigan Street.  Another son, Lou A Robertson, was a well-known attorney.  Lou also lived in the house with his wife Mary.  The Robertsons may have the record for the family who has dwelled in an Irvington house for the longest period of time.  They moved into the beautiful American Four Square in the early 1900s and the last Robertson did not leave until the 1980s.

The Robertson Home in the winter of 2012

The historic photos are courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society, Larry Muncie Collection.

Missions Building c1915

The Christian Woman's Board of Missions opened their training school in Irvington in 1910.  Hundreds of missionaries over the years received training at the school operated by the Disciples of Christ.  Graduates traveled the world and some came back to teach at the institution.  Butler University students  were allowed to attend classes there and had only a short walk from campus.  Chinese, Tibetans, and Indians were just some of the nationalities who came to live in Irvington to work at this international institution.  The Disciples of Christ moved their headquarters onto the site and 222 Downey Avenue was on letterheads and envelopes in places like Beijing, Tokyo, and Cairo.  The institution eventually added wings so the view shown in today's historic image is no longer possible.

The historic postcard shows women in their long dresses gathered at the entrance of the building. Someone has marked an X on one of the windows perhaps indicating the office for where he or she worked.

Christian Woman's Board of Missions c1915

By the 1990s, the Disciples of Christ pulled out of Irvington provoking a small crisis as to what to do with the sprawling complex of buildings.  One proposal called for knocking down all of the buildings, including the Bona Thompson Library, for condos.  Stalwart Irvington neighbors rallied and found a developer to turn the site into senior citizen housing, thus saving the historic buildings for another century.

Side entrance to Missions Building in 2013

IPS #57 Grade Eight School Photo--1934

Although it would be highly unlikely today, teachers of the graduating class of 1934 from IPS #57 directed the students down Johnson Avenue from East Washington and Ritter to the Irvington Presbyterian Church for a class photo.  The church was only six years old in 1934 so perhaps the photographer, W. Frank Jones, thought that the site made for a better setting that the older school.  Most of the students are dressed in their finest despite the fact that the Great Depression likely took a toll on many Irvington households. The girls are wearing dresses and at least two of the boys are wearing ties.  One young man in the top row has his hand over his heart.  Another young man is still donning his beret.  Sadly, most of the names are the lost to the ages now so if you recognize anyone in this photo then drop me a line at sleeth28@rock.com.  This wonderful image is courtesy of Don Rouse.  His mother, Christine Bruckman, is in the front row.

Members of the grade eight class from IPS #57 pose for their graduation photo in front of the Irvington Presbyterian Church in 1934.