๐ธGriffith Historical Society members work on putting together a two-sided Display Board showing photos and info from Griffith High Schoolโs 100 years.
โกFrom left to right are Debby Hoot, Karen Kulinski, Martha Gatlin, and Nancy Stout.
๐ซWhen the board is finished, it will be taken to the High School and put on display there!
๐ปWe’ll work on sharing digital copies here and our Facebook page as well!
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ!
๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐!!
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด.
๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ!
๐ต๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ. ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐. ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐.
๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ๐๐, ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐!
๐ฝ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐ถ ๐ข๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐ธ.
๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ!
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ!
๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐!!
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด.
๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ!
๐ธ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐๐. ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ท๐ฟ๐ท๐ท, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ $๐,๐๐๐ โ $๐ธ๐ผ๐ผ,๐ถ๐ถ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ขโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข. ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฑ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐.
๐๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ!
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ, ๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
In the olden days, a train equipped with a wedge plow in front of the engine cleared snow from the tracks. Clearing snow from around railroad depots, towers, and other outbuildings, like the Griffith watchmanโs shanty shown here, was done by railroad workers with shovels, as in this photo.
In truth, most of what was done in the early days of railroading was done by hand. Tracks were all laid by hand. Heavy wooden ties and steel rails were carried by two men, using special equipment, and put into place on the trackbed. Then, the men used a spike maul, similar to a sledge-hammer, to attach the rail to the ties by driving huge nails, called spikes, into the wood.
Tunnels though mountains were built by hand, too, by men like John Henry, the legendary steel-driving man. A steel-driver pounded out holes in the mountain, into which blasting powder was poured and lit with a fuse. Not one of the tools any of these men used had an electrical cord at the end of them.
In days gone by, putting up the townโs Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving was a yearly event in Griffith.
Members of the Community Spirit organization and the Griffith Fire Department are pictured here in the 100 block of South Broad Street. Lighted garlands were strung across Broad for several blocks.
It gave the town an especially festive holiday look, reminiscent, some folks said, of Bedford Falls, the town in the movie, โIt’s a Wonderful Life.โ
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ!๐
Join us!!
๐Saturday, Dec 9 (10am – 4pm) & ๐Sunday, Dec 10 (Noon – 4pm)
โ๏ธGive a donation, enjoy a private visit with Santa
โ๏ธTake photos & video, weโll take a family picture for you
โ๏ธOur Holiday Bake Sale in our Depot, plus:
โ๏ธ Daisy Troop 15620, with stocking stuffer snacks
โ๏ธBrownie Troop 35647, with ornaments/decorative candle jars
โ๏ธCub Scout Pack 622 & Boy Scout Troop 623, with hot dogs, & hot chocolate, and holding a clothing drive for Sojourner Truth House in Gary!
Mat Beiriger, Scottie Schweitzer and Mat Theis pose for a photo amidst a bountiful fall harvest. Farmers were the first to come to the Griffith area in the mid-1850โs when land here was cheap, but needed to be drained before it could be used. Under all the water, they found rich, fertile land on which to plant their crops.
Left: GHS Secretary, Karen Kulinski, talks to students about our Pullman Troop-sleeper railcar.
Right: Railroad history comes alive when a train passes by.
For the second year in a row, we hosted Griffith Public School students as part of our ElmerJ Program, wherein we work with schools as they teach town history, part of the 3rd grade Social Studies curriculum.
The program involves a presentation on Griffith History to the classes in their classroom, and a tour of the Historical Park. This year eight classes participated, with 161 students.
Students receive books on Griffith history written for young people, as well as primary source stories about early Griffith and other historical information.
We are grateful to members Nancy Stout, Karen Kulinski, Debby Hoot, John and Valerie Wotkun, Fran Evans, Marthann Gatlin, Claudia Powell, Victoria Fane, Toni Rickert, Belinda Stark.
Special thanks goes out to Officer Alex Ascolani, from the Canadian National Railroad Police, for providing Operation Lifesaver coloring books and coming out to the Park to talk to the children about train safety.
We are also grateful to the Griffith Park Department for bringing picnic tables up to our Park for us to use.
Our Historical Park has hosted Railroad Fairs, Santa Claus and even a Halloween event years ago. But next Sunday will be a first for us!
Boy Scout Troop 623, sponsored by the Griffith Isaac Walton League, will be camping overnight at our Park, September 16-17. They will set up camp late Saturday afternoon and sleep in the railcars.
On Sunday, they will take a tour of the Parkโs Depot, railcars and Tower. Both buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures.
Stop by our Griffith Historical Park, 201 S. Broad St., on Sunday if youโd like to see Scouting in action and learn more about Boy Scout Troop 623, or Cub Scout Pack 622.
Find us!!
Friday Sept 8 – 9am – 1pm at Strack and Van Til in Highland
Friday Sept 8 – 5pm – 7pm at Central Market ๐
Saturday Sept 9 – 1pm – 4pm at Griffith Public Safety & Community Day in Central Park! ๐
Friday Sept 15 – 5pm – 7pm at Central Market ๐
๐งฒWe have Limited Editon Griffith Magnets!! ๐๐๐๐ for ๐ฒ5๏ธโฃ
๐ Or get your own Historical Society t-shirt!Super soft, Bella Canvas tri-blend! ๐ We have V-necks and crew necks available!๐ฒ2๏ธโฃ0๏ธโฃ
๐ซ We also have 50/50 Raffle tickets!! Everyone loves a raffle!๐ฒ2๏ธโฃ each or 3๏ธโฃ for ๐ฒ5๏ธโฃ!! ๐ณDrawing is on November 15th.
๐ When we’re at Central Park, we’ll have the Barrel Train!! Grab your ticket to ride! $3๏ธโฃ per kid! All aboard!!
All sales and proceeds go directly to the upkeep of the Depot Museum, Train Park, Railroad Webcam, and Griffith History Preservation!!
Griffith History Museums 