From the Files of the Kosciusko County Historical Society

Editor’s note: This is a retrospective article that runs a few times a month on InkFreeNews.

Jan. 10, 1977 – Indiana’s worst storm of the season left the state, including Warsaw and the surrounding area, covered with up to 1 foot of new snow today. Many roads were closed and schools around the state canceled classes. All schools in Warsaw and Kosciusko County were closed.

Information for this retrospective series is courtesy of the Kosciusko County Historical Society.

Jan. 11, 1977 – Bitter cold arctic air brought temperatures as low as 14 below zero to the Warsaw area today, adding to the misery of drifting snow which clogged streets and roads, closing all schools in the city and county for the second consecutive day and bringing near paralysis to some localities.

Jan. 11, 1977 – A 17-year-old Warsaw Community High School student, Matthew Miner, of 715 Pam St., Warsaw, told city police that he set off an M-80 firecracker behind a toilet in a high school restroom last Friday morning. According to police, the matter is now “in the hands of the probation officers and the prosecutor.”

Jan. 14, 1976 – The Old Hotel, an 86-year-old downtown Milford landmark, was gutted by a five-hour fire today that halted Lakeland school district buses for two hours. Volunteer firemen from Milford, Syracuse, Nappanee and Leesburg were called to the scene to extinguish flames that started in the basement and burned up through the second floor of the hotel via side walls.

Jan. 15, 1974 – Officials today estimated the loss at $400,000 — including $300,000 to the inventory — in a fire Monday that completely destroyed Pletcher’s Furniture and Carpet Warehouse on U.S. 6 in Nappanee. The blaze apparently started in a furnace area. The warehouse was about a mile west of Pletcher’s Furniture Village.

Jan. 11, 1971 – The Bronze Star medal with Oak Leaf Cluster was presented posthumously to Cpl. Willard C. Debolt in private ceremonies held recently in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Gaff, 115 N. Union St., Warsaw. The presentation was made to the deceased soldier’s wife, Mrs. Deanna (Gaff) Debolt.

– Compiled by InkFreeNews reporter Lasca Randels