the home times-#2

The Home TimesThe Home Times Issue #2 January 7, 2011 A Bi-monthly Supplemental Newsletter To The Morton Memorial Alumni Homesite

What is there not to love about

these two guys? They call each

other brother. They have

known each other since they

went to the Home; Sooky in

1926 and Dale in 1929. Sooky

was at the Home for 12 years,

leaving just one year before

graduation. Dale was at the

Home for 10 years. I asked

Sooky why he didn’t graduate.

He said he was asked to leave

after being caught in the “girls

dorm.”

Dale wrote and published a

book in 1990 called “Another

Time, Another Generation”

outlining his stay at ISSCH and

his military career. He has

written many endearing poems

about “Home Life” that was

published in “The Land Of

Perpetual Childhood” Poem

book. It was at Homecoming in

2007 when both guys were

honored with the highest award

our Alumni Association gives,

The Mac Schofield Award. It

was that year when both were

instrumental in spearheading the

project to become the “Veteran’s

Memorial Wall” dedicated to

the Home Kids who were

casualties in World War I and

World War II. With the help of

the cadets and LTC Riley, Army

JROTC instructor, they found

photos and information to

document these fallen soldiers

and honor them.

Both Sooky and Dale know

what it means to serve our

country. Dale served in the

Army for 40 years beginning in

the North African Campaign

and Europe. After returning

home, he joined the Army

Reserves.

The former ISSCH is now home to the quasi-military

academy run by the Indiana National Guard. The Hoosier

Youth ChalleNGe Academy graduated 94 cadets December

18, 2010. The Academy targets youth from ages 16 to 19

who have dropped out of school and are unemployed. They

must be drug free and have no felony convictions or pending

court cases. The cadets get daily training in life skills, health

and fitness, academics and leadership. They spend five (5)

months living on campus. After they graduate, they are

assigned mentors for a year to ensure they stay on track. The

academy hopes to graduate two classes a year, but plans to

double the classes in the coming years. They moved to

Knightstown from Edinburgh, Indiana after Governor

Daniels closed the Home in 2009. Even though our Alumni

is not happy with the change in the Home, we are still happy

that it is serving the purpose of helping our youth. We

support the kids graduating and welcome them into our

Alumni Association.

We are very proud to announce the first recipient of the

ISSCH Alumni Association $500.00 Scholarship. The

scholarship was awarded to HYCA Academy Graduate

Anne Phelps by Doug Jordan, (pictured above) our new

Alumni Association President. Congratulations to Anne!

The Hoosier Youth ChalleNGe

Academy Graduates 94 Cadets

Happy 2011Happy 2011 To Our Alumni and Friends! To Our Alumni and Friends!

Sooky left the Home with

$15.00, a new suit and a

cardboard box full of “stuff.”

After finishing High School, he

worked in the Steel Mills in

Chicago. He went on to Tampa

University in Florida and

earned his business degree. He

served in both the Navy as a

combat pilot, and the Coast

Guard. He had the honor of

being selected to scout and

locate the sites for the Down

Range Radar Tracking Stations

for the “Space Program.” After

retiring from the military in

1962 a Lieutenant Commander,

Sooky worked 24 more years

for Prudential Insurance Co. as

First Vice President.

Sooky lives in San Antonio,

Texas and Dale in Tucson,

Arizona. Both send their love

to all of their “Homie” friends.

Where are they now?

Carl “Sooky” Scott & Dale Hughes

from Morton Class of 1939

Carl “Sooky” (on the left) and

Dale Hughes (on the right)

accepting the Mac Schofield

Award in 2007

Issue #2 January 7, 2011

A Bi-monthly Supplemental Newsletter To The Morton Memorial Alumni Homesite

J. Charles Lawhorn 78, Greenwood, Indiana, passed away

December 4, 2010. Charles was a graduate of the Class of

1950. He will be remembered on the Morton Homesite for his

unbelievable knowledge of

the Home and it’s History.

He shared his experiences

often. He was very

disappointed when the

Home closed in 2009 and

would express his feelings

often. Charles loved the

Home. He was deeply hurt

when he lost his dear wife

Ogla in the Spring of 2010.

All of us always looked

forward to Charles posts, as

they were smart and full of

information. He will be

sadly missed on the Morton

Memorial Alumni Homesite.

Charles and Olga had a

beautiful family of 6

children. Daughters Linda J.

Woods, Cathy Franks, Vicky

Lee, and Lora Vivas. Sons Gary Dupre’ and Adrian Lawhorn.

The family celebrated Charles’s life with a private service. Our

sincere Condolences go to their family.

Evelyn (Balle) Sophronia Gaster, Class of 1942

Evelyn Sophronia Gaster, 87, peacefully went home on Tuesday,

December 21, at The Village at Legacy Pointe in Waukee, Iowa.

She spent her final days surrounded by loved ones, including

her only daughter Cindy (John) Tometich of Johnston and four grandchildren: Melissa (John) Ulrickson of Ankeny and their four

boys - Sam, Jack, Max, and Frank; Elizabeth (Scott) Behrens of

Kansas City and their two girls; Evelyn and Annabelle; Ryan

Tometich of Johnston; and Mary (Jonathan) Kaisand of Ames.

Evelyn was raised at the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's

Home, spending time whenever she could with her beloved

parents and siblings. After attending beauty school, she moved

to Iowa, worked as a beauty operator, and married Harold

Gaster in May 1948. Consistently putting the needs of others

before her own, she exemplified this Scripture: "Your attitude

should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who...made himself

nothing, taking the very nature of a servant." She loved to

volunteer at her church, serve coffee to a daily houseful of

visitors, and spend many of her days loving on her family.

Remembering our loved ones… What the caterpillar perceives as the end, to the butterfly, it’s just the beginning…

2010 Brought losses to our Alumni and

their families…

When a Home brother or sister passes

It is felt by all, as we are family…

This statement is so true for those from the children’s home.

While growing up at the Home you develop a family bond with

your roommates. Many children were at the Home all of their

young childhood, so naturally, they think of each other as their

brothers and sisters. We have lost some loved ones in 2010.

Not only in our Home family, but some have lost dear family

members too. Below is a listing of those who have passed since

January 1, 2010. Remember, there could be some missing on

this list. If you know of any of our family members that have

passed and are not listed here, please contact me at:

[email protected]

NAME CLASS OR POSITION HELD DATE OF DEATH

Jo Dianne (Robertson) Himes, Class of 1960 01/01/2010

George Pitts, Class of 1943 01/21/2010

Virginia “Ginny” (Galvin) Dison, Class of 1944 02/09/2010

Roy Lee Webb, Class of 1967 02/20/2010

Mary (Armarie) Rardon Boyce, Class of 1945 03/01/2010

Elinor I. (Hamm) Day, Class of 1940 05/14/2010

Barbara (Chambers) Farber, Class of 1954 04/06/2010

Helen Marie (Lawhorn) Clark, Class of 1943 06/10/2010

Sybil H. (Humphrey) Burnett, Class of 1939 07/25/2010

Bernice E. (Vinson) Alexander, Class of 1940 08/06/2010

Wanitta Mae Kirk (Houseparent) 09/07/2010

Dr. Robert Raisor (Teacher) 09/12/2010

Dr. Clifford Gerbig, Class of 1951 09/12/2010

Robert “Bob” Bragdon, Class of 1965 10/06/2010

Darrin Lee Goff, Class of 1985 11/21/2010

Mary L. (Norris) Tochterman, Class of 1945 11/24/2010

J. Charles Lawhorn, Class of 1950 12/04/2010

Evelyn (Balle) Sophronia Gaster, Class of 1942 12/21/2010

G one b u t n e v e r f o rg o t t en…



Betty (Kraft) Tabor, Class of 1958

Betty should be going through chemo now for cancer.

Please drop her a card as she could use a good boost from her fellow classmates. Write to Betty at: Betty Tabor, 1660 Daub Street

Greenwood, Indiana 46143. If you need an immediate update, you can write to her brother Bob at: [email protected] Becky (Barnett) Flowers, Class of 1979

Becky married her long time bow Saturday, December 4th. She has been through Chemo and is holding her own at this time. Please write Becky at: Becky Flowers

131 Franklin Street Knightstown, IN 46148 Bob Snedaker, Class of 1950

Bob’s sister Rosie contacted me recently and informed me that Bob is now in a nursing facility. He has COPD and has severe problems breathing. She said

he would love to hear from his friends by phone or mail. Bob’s contact information is as follows; Bob Snedaker

Riverside Village 1400 West Franklin St. Elkhart, IN 46516 You can call Bob at: (574)-215-3090. You can also

write to Rosie at: [email protected]

Barbara Richardson, Houseparent for over 28 years

Everyone loves Barbara! Please keep her in your prayers as she is recuperating after an illness. You can write, or call Barbara, as she would love to hear from

all of her former students. Write to: Barbara Richardson

Lincoln Center – East Building 1029 East 5th Street Room 106 Connersville, Indiana 47331

Phone: (765) 825-2697

Fred Wright: 11659 North Carthage Pike, Knightstown, Indiana 46148

Max & Wilma Stanley: 11712 North Carthage Pike, Knightstown, IN

46148. As many of you already know, Max & Wilma just celebrated 69

years of marriage. What a great example they have been for us all! As recent as a couple of weeks ago, Max was hospitalized. Tony Crump, Class of 1983

Tony was recently diagnosed with cancer. Please keep Tony and his family in your prayers. Karen (Jordan) Williams, Class of 1979

Karen has been through a lot this past year. Because of complications from diabetes, she had one leg amputated. Unfortunately, they had to amputate the other leg too. I hope may of you will write to Karen, she has been

moved to a rehab center. You can write to Karen at: Karen Williams, Danville Rehab Center, 255 Meadow Drive, Danville, IN 46122. John Dicus, Class of 1967

John recently had open-heart surgery at Northwestern in Chicago and is doing well. The doctors are hopeful that John will now be able to go through liver-kidney transplant surgery as soon as a donor is available. If

you would like to write to John, his address is: John Dicus 10328 Margene Drive

Brownsburg, IN 46112 Nancy (Wilbur) Burmeister, Class of 1970

Nancy recently received a miracle, a double lung transplant. She has since

had a couple of complications and 3 more surgeries. She is now at home and doing better. Please write to Nancy or call her. She loves hearing from our Homies. Write to:

Nancy Burmeister 5355 Sweetwater Drive Indianapolis, IN 46235 Phone: (317) 823-1396

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless…

-Mother Teresa

You can write to Susie Jackson-Yagher anytime at:

[email protected]

Keep these old friends on your prayer list… Here are more addresses to keep in touch:



CHECK HERE EVERY ISSUE

FOR NEW FLASHBACKS!

This article came out in the July, 1966

edition of the Home Journal. Of course,

Debi is a still a real sweetheart today!

!!!!!!!!!!

Remember the old dairy barn? This

drawing is by Joan Bell Hart from the Class of 1955.

Remember when?

Remember when J. J. E. Sang?

This group sang at the 2009 Graduation

Ceremonies for our last graduating class.

This photo was taken from the January

1995 Home Journal. What a group!

Remember Mr Walker. He is doing great,

living in Knightstown. This photo is from

the October 1983 issue.

Remember

Art & Jacquie

Randolph at

Homecoming

in 1976? They

could sure cut

a rug

together! Art

was from the

Class of 1939.

The Morton Memorial Honor

Roll published in the October 8,

1954 issue of the Home Journal.

Now we know who the smart

ones are!! I do apologize for the

quality of the photos—I hope to

improve on them next time!

These are so much fun to look

back on… Zoom To view!

Zoom To View!!



The Adoption by Dale Hughes

Please submit all information for the next Newsletter by 4:00 pm on Monday, March 7th, 2011 for a March 8th release date. THE HOME TIMES newsletter is an independent

newsletter for the Alumni of Morton Memorial High School and the former employees of The Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s Home located in Knightstown, Indiana.

Just like the Morton Memorial Alumni Homesite at MyFamily.com, The Home Times is intended to bring you NEWS about our Alumni and to bring our Alumni together.

THE HOME TIMES is available to the Alumni Association for announcements/event notifications in order to help promote our Alumni Association from Morton Memorial

High School. This Newsletter will never cost you a fee on line, however, if you would like a printed copy, please send $1.00 per issue to the address below for printing/mailing. I

do ask those online to forward it to all of our Home Family and friends to get the word out. If you are not on Facebook or the Myfamily.com site, please send your contact information to either my e-mail, or regular mailing address. I will personally e-mail it to you.

Any and all content is under the ownership of the Home Times and Susan K. Jackson-Yagher

Contact: [email protected]

Phone: Cell: (386) 295-1576, Hm: (386) 673-1576, Bus. (386) 673-1588

Note: You can call my cell phone for emergencies anytime, day or night if needed.

Send all inquiries/information to: Susan Yagher, 6 Lost Spring Way, Ormond Beach, FL 32174

Let’s Link Our Family Circle Together! If you have a Home-related website you would like to link, please notify Susie. Your Home-related site will get more traffic by

linking to ALL Alumni Sites. Let’s link all of our sites together with one goal in mind---to bring our Alumni members together.

The Morton Memorial Alumni Homesite: http://www.mortonmemorialalumni.org/isapi.dll?c=h&htx=page

This site has been on the web since 2000---the very first of it’s kind through MyFamily.com! It is password-protected for a secure place for our Alumni to post personal photos

and information without it being on the open web. You will find the most current News of our Homies, along with 100’s of photos that have been posted of all classes for years.

If you attended Morton Memorial High School and/or you are a former employee, you can become a member. Write Susie for more information.

FACEBOOK SITE: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home

Susie Jackson-Yagher is the page Administrator of the Facebook site. You can find it

On Facebook by keying in: Morton Memorial Alumni – Knightstown, Indiana

The ISSCH Alumni Association Site: http://www.isschalumni.com/index.html

If you want to keep up on the Alumni Association Meetings, make a donation, buy items at the Homestore, check out this site.

You will be able to find news about Homecoming and what is going on with the Alumni Association. If you would like to

make a donation, send all donations to our Association Treasurer: George Cambron, 5447 Rinehart Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46241

Please make your check or money order payable to: The ISSCH Alumni Association

They came down to the Home to adopt a little Child to be their very own.

And walked the entire campus where So many little children roam.

A little girl would be nice, so sweet And lovely, she would really be a joy. But there were so many here to choose from, It was then they spotted a little boy.

Their attention focused on him as he chased a mongrel dog around and around.

He would throw a stick as far as he could for the puppy to retrieve when found. He screamed and laughed, deeply involved

As they continued to run and play. But he really knew why they were here, And thought, “Would this be the day?”

Only ten, he had been an orphan for as long As he could remember, or figure. He wanted to have a Mom and Dad to love;

Leave the Home for a life much bigger.

He was a sturdy little runt in his knee-length pants, black socks and dark,

unruly hair. And he seemed so very happy as he played--never seeming to have a single care.

It’s an odd phenomena, the changing of minds; and the end results of what they achieved. Of some fast passing fantasy,

which ends up in reality, something they never perceived.

They called him over. He came running and confronted them with a beaming smile. The mongrel dog was at his heels, jumping and tugging at his shoelaces all

the while. “What’s your name little boy?” They

asked him. In wild anticipation, “I’m Carl,” he said. The couple smiled down at the little orphan boy, ---but adopted that mangy dog instead.

About this poem… I try to call both Dale and Sooky when

I can. I admire the brotherhood between them. This poem is about an actual incident that happened to Sooky when he was just 10. As we talked this

past week, I asked Sooky about the incident. Even at 91 years old reading the poem to him over the phone still

brought tears. He will never forget the day the couple came to the Home in 1930, and choose the dog over him.

the home times-#2

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