๐ฆJoin us to celebrate the return of the monarchs, as they migrate up from the south! ๐๏ธSunday May 24, 2026 ๐ฐ๏ธ 1 – 4 pm
๐ซ Visit the Griffith Depot & Train Museums (everything will be open to view!) and enjoy our Monarch Waystation garden! ๐ฆLearn about Monarchs, their amazing migration, & how they’ve become endangered. Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge. ๐Learn about adding native plants to your garden. ๐ปBuy plants that help butterflies, especially monarchs! Weโll have a small selection of milkweed plants & other native plants.
Where DOES one put a depot?Written by Karen Kulinski
When last we were together, it was the late 1970โs. A small band of Griffith townsfolk had decided to save the Grand Trunk Depot from demolition, the last of three train stations that once stood near the Broad Street railroad crossing.
One of the first things they did was ask other town organizations to join them. Two major ones, Griffith Community Spirit and the Griffith Junior Womanโs Club, heeded the call.
They also approached the Town Board for help, and Trustee Merle Colby became the man on point.
Of major concern to the group was raising the funds to move the Depot, and the group approached local business for contributions or for in-kind items or services.
But equally concerning was, if the group was able to save the Depot, where would they put it?
Martha Gatlin recalled, โWe felt it was important to keep the Depot visible to drivers who were stopped for one of the many trains that came through Griffith on the then-eleven tracks. And to keep the building close to the townโs operational rail lines.โ
Many years later, this decision ended up being a major factor in the Societyโs favor when we applied for the Depot to be put on the National Register Of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures.
But finding such a site back then wasnโt easy for the group. Finally, Howard Anderson discovered a small patch of vacant land on the corner of Avenue A and Broad Street.
Further investigation at the courthouse revealed no one had a claim on the land, nor did anyone have a deed to it.
โWe immediately claimed it!โ Martha stated, โAnd the stage was set to move the Depot onto it.โ
Some years later, it was discovered that the property was once part of a street named Travis Avenue. For some unknown reason, the street ended up going in a different direction, leaving the open space behind. The street also ended up with a different name โ Avenue A.
Whatever the reason for this happening, it sure was a bit of serendipity working for us early on.
In January, 1980, the last remaining Griffith depot was safely moved to that empty spot of land right next to the railroad tracks.
The original use for the Depot was as a storage place for Community Spiritโs Christmas decorations. Before long, a more noble use for the Depot would be decided on.
And so would begin a new history for that heretofore unwanted Depot and the abandoned patch of land.
Also part of the group dedicated to saving the Depot but not mentioned in this article were Kathy Anderson, Donna Gonzalez and Ray Anderson (no relation to Kathy.)
Take a sleigh ride with me back in time when I first encountered Christmas in Griffith, some 50 years ago. Written by Karen Kulinski
On an early date with my husband, Alan, he took me for a ride down Broad Street, then the major shopping center of the town, to see the Christmas lights. I thought it a sweet gesture, never imaging what a show this little town put on in December.
Holiday garlands of greenery, interspersed with oversized Christmas lights and huge ornaments and bows, were strung over Broad Street, one after the other for almost two blocks. Plus special light-up holiday messages โ SEASONS GREETINGS, HO HO HO and NOEL.
Below the lights, every shop on those Broad Street blocks were lit up, too. It was a sight right out of the movies โ Itโs A Wonderful Life โ only way prettier because it was in color.
My first Christmas in Griffith, I discovered who made that holiday magic happen. An organization called Community Spirit. And a whole lot of townspeople.
To find more information, I turned to a 2004 publication โ a young peopleโs history of Griffith, written by Griffith young people. My thanks go out to Beiriger 4th-graders, Jill Fitzgerald and Rebecca Frank, whose article on Community Spirit provided a treasure trove of information.
Community Spirit was organized about 1969 by Griffith resident Gale Riggle and the Griffith Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees.) The reason, say the girls in their article, was โthe group felt that downtown Griffith should be more festive at Christmas time.โ
Festivity takes money, so the group immediately went to work raising funds to purchase a nativity scene. It was put up in front of Franklin School for many years, eventually finding a second home on St. Maryโs Church property.
The Christmas garlands came next, purchased piece meal over the years. Summer and fall, Community Spirit members spent hours making sure all the lights worked and the bows and ornaments were sparkly and tightly attached to the garland.
All had to be ready for Thanksgiving Saturday when Griffith got festive.
The day began with the volunteers enjoying a traditional early breakfast together at a local restaurant. Then they set about hanging the decorations, with the help of the Griffith Fire Department and their cherry-picker truck.
By that evening, with lights all aglow, Griffith was exceedingly merry and bright!
Community Spirit did more than just light up the holiday for Griffith, the girls wrote in their article. โCommunity Spirit also put up flags along Broad Street for the 4th of July and helped with the parade. In the spring, they hung flower baskets downtown.โ
And, most importantly, the girls wrote one more thing Community Spirit did. โIn the late 1970โs, they worked with other town organizations to save the last remaining depot in Griffith. And over the following two years, helped renovate the depot for use as a town museum.โ
Unfortunately, the holiday light extravaganza did not continue to today. Rumor has it that as traffic increased on Broad Street, drivers found the lights a distraction, especially nearing stoplights. And taller trucks often hit and damaged the garlands as they barreled through town. But the memories live on in those who saw those amazing decorations. And now I get to tell a new generations of Griffith folks the story of when Griffith got festive in a very big way!
๐Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from the Griffith Historical Society! ๐ Thank you to everyone who braved the cold and came out to Santa in the Caboose!! From our volunteers to those of you who visited and left a donation, we couldn’t do it without you! ๐As a non-profit, volunteer-run organization, all of your donations go directly to the upkeep of the Train & Depot Museums and the Town History Museum at the Franklin Center. We appreciate you and your support!
Griffith History Museums 