ANDERSON — On Cross Street sits a house that was built around 1926. Down the hill sits the present day Coon Hunter’s Club.
Rumor has it that there was a speakeasy where nationally known acts would perform. Dancing and drink went on during a time when Prohibition was at its peak.
The present owners of the home are Phil and Judy Sells. They were informed by former owners Paul and Sylvnia Kellums, who lived there for 47 years and are now deceased, that John Dillinger stored liquor in the basement. The basement became the speakeasy.
“It was a nightclub and had important acts at the time, the Kellums told us,” said Sells. “There was another speakeasy on the corner of Hill Street and Cross Street that was also supplied liquor.”
The house was out in the country; land around it wasn’t developed yet.
Sells also says his wife, Judy, used to work at the former Commercial Bank in Daleville — the same one that was robbed in July 17, 1933, by Dillinger.
A thrown satchel
ANDERSON — Jim and Betty Garringer tell a tale involving Jim’s dad, Isaac Jacob Garringer. The senior Garringer was Edgewood town marshal in the 1930s and may have had a close encounter with Dillinger.
“My dad got a call from the local sheriff reporting that Dillinger was headed out of town on State Road 32 at the time. There were the two towers (Tower Road) where the Interurban railroad ran through and people would wait to get on the trolley there.”
Garringer was just a baby at the time that Dillinger robbed the Commercial Bank in Daleville. The older Garringer made it there just in time to see something thrown out the window, landing in one of the towers. It was a satchel that might have been used in the bank robbery. Dillinger had sped through too fast to be caught.
“The local newspaper at the time reported that a lone gunman had robbed a bank,” Garringer said. “I had heard that at the old State Police Post there was the satchel with my dad’s name on it as the person who recovered it, but when I went to find out more, the post had been closed down.”
Community
Dillinger: A local speakeasy
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A dream cabin in the woods
Phil Hatter regularly told his children that once they were all grown, he would build a log cabin in the country. They didn’t believe him. “I think log homes are really neat, but they have to be put in the right place,” he said.
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Jim Bailey: Jim Carter made football a respectable sport at AHS
When I first came to Anderson in 1951, Jim Carter had been named head football coach at Anderson High School. At that time, football at AHS was little more than an activity to get out of the way to make room for basketball season. The Indians were known to play two games in the same week to shorten the season.
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Community Briefs: May 27
A compilation of community news as published in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
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Remember When: May 27
The slide was one of the more popular attractions at the Falls Park swimming area in Pendleton as evidenced by the number of people waiting their turn on the slide’s steps and its top platform.
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Champions League makes everyone a winner
The Champions League — in its 12th season — is sponsored by the Pendleton Junior Baseball Association and is open to anyone 5 to 18 with physical and developmental disabilities.
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History: Lapel Telephone Co. was talk of town
In November 1962, when the Lapel Telephone Co. was sold to United Utilities by the children of founder Earl Tull, a Madison County era ended.
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Back in the News: May 27
The Herald Bulletin looks back at stories from the Anderson Daily Bulletin and The Anderson Herald newspapers.
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Howard Hewitt: 'Pink' wines growing in popularity
Those silly looking pink wines in your favorite wine shop or liquor store are gaining respect through robust sales.
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Nancy Vaughan: Tomorrow starts today
The United Way of Madison County's 2011 annual report seeks to recognize the individuals and organizations that contribute their resources to support investments and activities to increase the education, income and health of all who call Madison County home.
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Births: May 27
Local birth listings are published each Sunday in The Herald Bulletin. Birth announcements with a photo are available for a fee. Call The Herald Bulletin at 640-4800 for more information.
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