Delaware County Historical Society

09/03/2026

The swampy origins of Prairie Creek Reservoir:

In 1881, Indiana geologist A.J. Phinney believed the wetland formed as the glaciers retreated. In his view, meltwater had carved out a broad channel, leaving a low basin with Prairie Creek running north down the center. Water and decaying vegetation accumulated over centuries, creating a “swamp which could be crossed only in a few places.” Phinney found organic deposits 10 to 20 feet thick.

From a vast swamp to a local landmark, discover the complex history behind the creation of Prairie Creek Reservoir.

08/31/2026

It was exciting to find this photo of a courtroom the third Delaware County courthouse in the Mike Mavis collection. You don’t find many interior photos of that building, especially of a courtroom.

When I turned the photo over, there was this caption “Triple Slaying Witness Testifies.” I had to find out about this. What follows is a tale of gambling and drinking, a shootout, escape, capture, the trial, the state police, the FBI, and Indiana’s governor. The town of Bedford, Indiana also plays into the story.

The story began in October 1949 with two young men from Bedford, Indiana. One report noted that Donald Dalton and George Gratzer left Bedford on Monday, October 11, 1949 to look for employment in Columbus, Indiana, but, according to Gratzer, he and Dalton had “… been looking for a place to knock off in eastern Indiana and Ohio since last Monday.” They found that place in the New Deal Cigar Store in Muncie.

Dalton, age 29, was well known in Bedford as a gambler who had had several run-ins with the law, including a recently dismissed charge of assault and battery with intent to kill. Gratzer, age 27, did not have a police record.

The initial report noted that, sometime after midnight on Thursday, October 13, Dalton and Gratzer entered the New Deal Cigar Store located at 604 South Walnut Street. Card games were in progress in the back room. By 1:20 a.m. Theodore Raines and Dewey Wills were dead, cigar store owner Ralph Frazier was dying, and at least three more men, including George Gratzer, were wounded.

Ultimately, it was determined that seven men were injured. It’s possible that at least one other man was wounded. According to a woman who witnessed the chaos, the number “… doesn’t count the old man whose hand I bandaged with a towel outside.” When asked what happened to him, the woman said that he just disappeared.

Within minutes after the shooting stopped, police officers and sheriff deputies swarmed the store, and ambulances arrived. It was estimated that 75 to 100 spectators gathered inside the cigar store and on the sidewalk outside.

Cigar store patron W. H. “Peedad” McKissack gave his account of the shooting. He said “I was up by the counter a little after 1 o’clock. The first shooting, I saw a guy come in the door and he waved his gun. The first I heard Ralph Frazier say, he said, ‘Everybody be careful.’” The man said, ‘Do what I tell you and nobody will get hurt.’” Then the gunman started shooting. McKissack ducked behind a counter and managed to avoid the bullets. In the next day’s newspaper, it was reported that Gratzer pulled a gun and store owner Ralph Frazier tried to take it away from him. In the struggle, he was shot.

Early Thursday morning, Police Chief Harry Nelson announced that three gunmen had been apprehended at the corner of 12th and Grant Streets. George Gratzer, bleeding from a wound in his side, confessed his guilt. Gratzer had been shot by his partner Donald Dalton, probably accidentally. Dalton had apparently driven to this corner then abandoned his car and his partner.

In the cigar store, an unidentified witness said, “The poker table was there against the north wall in back. When the shooting started, I tried to duck out of the way…. When it was over, the ambulances arrived.… I started to move it (the table) and found Ted Raines on the floor under it …. I think he was dead when I found him.”

Three bullet holes were found in one wall, although it was determined that one of the holes was a leftover from a previous shooting. Several more bullets pierced the paneling at the front of the room, and another grazed the swinging door between the store and the backroom. Apparently, one of the wounded men hid behind the pinball machine as a large pool of blood was found there. Chairs were kicked over, bottles were scattered throughout the room, and cigarette smoke hung in the air.

One of the wounded was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A man from Cincinnati who remained anonymous said that he had just left a coffee shop on Seymour Street and was walking past the cigar store when the shooting started. He felt a sharp pain in the side, dropped to the ground and started rolling. The police briefly suspected that he might be an accomplice, but he was soon exonerated.

Another man slept through the whole episode. The bleary-eyed man told the police, “I slept right through it….” He woke up when the gunmen were going out the door. “Hey! I said that you can’t do that in here.” After that, he went back to sleep.

In the next few days, some details changed and new ones came to light as the investigation continued. George Gratzer was indeed accidentally shot by his partner. When he ran out of the cigar store, he jumped into Dalton’s car, took off, and drove for about 1 ½ miles until he collapsed. When found by the police, he was laying in a pool of his own blood. A 32-caliber gun and an almost empty half-pint bottle of whiskey were found in the car. The gun had been fired at least four times.

There wasn’t a third gunman as reported earlier, and Dalton was nowhere to be found after the shooting. According to early reports, he slipped away after leaving the cigar store, eventually stealing a car. As the manhunt was on for Dalton, Prosecutor Guy Ogle filed manslaughter charges against him for the shooting of Theodore Raines and Dewey Wills. No charges were filed yet for George Gratzer. Ralph Frazier died Saturday morning bringing on the possibility of more charges, including murder. The FBI were not involved yet but were known to be watching the progress of the case. The Bureau did become involved when it was determined that Dalton had crossed state lines. The hunt for Dalton spread beyond Indiana borders to Chicago and Louisville.

While the hunt was on for Dalton, it was noted in Friday’s Evening Press that instead of a simple stick up, the shooting was a result of a “gambling revenge act” and that “Muncie’s long and troubled vice situation came into the open again today.” Rumors swirled that several Muncie ministers had contacted Governor Henry Schricker asking him to send state police in to clean up the gambling dens. The governor denied that he had been contacted and said that he would await developments. It was reported, however, that all forms of gambling had come to a halt in Muncie’s cigar stores, taverns, and pool halls.

An editorial in the Saturday, October 15, 1949 Evening Press declared that “Muncie can no longer tolerate its indifference to the law.” There was no reason, it was said, that the cigar shop should have been open at that time of the night, nor why a card game should have been tolerated at any time of the day. The police were blamed for laxness and there was concern that the shooting would provide another blot on Muncie’s reputation. Muncie police took the matter into their own hands. On Friday, October 14, 1949, city detective Ernest Holaday visited all of the cigar stores where cards were played and tip books were sold. That evening the tip books had all disappeared and the gambling rooms were empty.

That didn’t last long. By November 18, 1949, the backroom of the New Deal Cigar Store was reopened for gambling. In fact, all of the backrooms were open again. The report that gambling had resumed led to another newspaper editorial, which asked if more men had to die before the police cracked down on gambling.

Donald Dalton was finally located at Smokey’s tavern just outside of San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday, October 26, 1949. He had $3 in his pockets and was unarmed and offered no resistance to the four FBI agents who arrested him. Dalton was arraigned on a fugitive warrant and jailed in San Antonio. Governor Schricker signed a requisition for an extradition warrant, and several law enforcement officers were dispatched to San Antonio to pick up Dalton and return him to Muncie.

Even though it was reported after the shooting that Dalton had stolen a car, he said that he left Muncie on foot and hitchhiked and rode freight trains to San Antonio. Apparently, he had friends there who he thought could help him. Dalton said that he threw his gun into the river at Springfield, Missouri. He also gave a statement to police in San Antonio that differed substantially from Gratzer’s version of the shooting.

When notified that Dalton had been captured, Gratzer said, “I never thought they’d take him alive.” Once Dalton was back in Muncie, he and Gratzer were sent to the reformatory in Pendleton to await trial. An editorial in the October 27, 1949 issue of the Muncie Star lauded the Muncie police and the FBI for Dalton’s capture.

Dalton and Gratzer were charged with murder in perpetuation of a robbery and murder in the first degree. The state sought the death penalty for both defendants. George Gratzer was represented by Muncie attorney Van Ogle and Bedford attorney Robert Melvin, and Donald Dalton was represented by Muncie attorney Clarence Benadum and Indianapolis attorney Charles Lewis. The prosecutor was Guy Ogle, brother of defense attorney Van Ogle. The presiding judge was Joseph H. Davis.

The trial began on Monday, February 13, 1950 with jury selection and a motion for dismissal by Dalton’s attorney based on a plea of self-defense. Judge Davis denied the motion without comment. Testimony began as soon as the jury of twelve men was sworn in.

The first witness called by the state was Orville Johnson, a draftsman in the city engineer’s office. He identified the chart in the courtroom photo as the one he made at the scene of the crime. Dozens of witnesses testified before the case was sent to the jury. After 29 hours of deliberation, the jury announced the verdict on March 9, 1950. Donald Dalton was found guilty on all counts, and the jury recommended life imprisonment. George Gratzer was found not guilty. Dalton’s attorney, Clarence Benadum, said “I’m certainly surprised that the jury would acquit one and convict the other when all the evidence showed both men to be innocent.” An appeals court threw out Dalton’s murder conviction. He then pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 2 to 21 years at Pendleton Reformatory. He was paroled on October 8, 1955, not quite six years after the shooting.

I’ll end with a quote from one of the witnesses who was nearby and saw Dalton and Gratzer back out of the store with their guns in hand. He said, “for a while I thought I’d been lifted out of Muncie to Dodge City.” Apt, I think.

Information in this story came from contemporary Muncie newspaper accounts.

08/28/2026

“Presidents, Pacifists, and Popsicles: A Ball State History Walking Tour”

Want to learn more about the faces and places of Ball State? Join Melissa Gentry, Supervisor of the Paul W. Stout Map Collection and Delaware County Historical Society board member, and Lorey Stinton, GIS Specialist for University Libraries, for another educational and entertaining stroll at the third-annual Ball State University Libraries’ History Walking Tour. You’ll learn some of the hidden history about the people who worked and lived on campus.

This year marks a new route from the previous years with new people and places to commemorate. You’ll learn about some past presidents, performers, protests, pageants, and (obviously) some “Notable Women.”

The team will be serving up storytelling, door prizes (including a hammock), and popsicles to keep cool. The tour lasts about 45 minutes, weather permitting. Just meet in the lobby of Bracken Library on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:00 pm.

08/24/2026

Circa 1944, C. Ray Mitchell, his brother H. Max Miller, and James Fisher established the Douglas-Eaton Manufacturing Company in an abandoned pool room on Harris Street in Eaton, Indiana. The company employed approximately twenty people to make hassocks. Apparently, the hassocks were very popular, because the company soon outgrew space to manufacture the hassocks and to store them for shipping. Just one year after founding the company, Mitchell erected a new factory on North Meridian Street in Eaton.

Even though the new factory wasn’t quite completed, a dedication was held on October 1, 1945. The Eaton High School band and orchestra played, the glee club sang, and dance music was provided by Louie Tolle and his orchestra. Refreshments were served, which was probably a good idea, since the entertainment went on for three hours.

Unfortunately, all did not go smoothly at the new factory. On October 26, a spark from an acetylene welding torch started a fire that caused $15,000 to $20,000 in damages. There was heavy smoke damage, and almost all of the raw materials were destroyed. Guards from the nearby prisoner of war camp joined with the Eaton fire department to fight the fire. Several firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation at the hospital in the nearby POW camp. It was estimated that repairs would take 30 to 60 days.

Douglas-Eaton reopened and during the next 20 years added forty-two more styles of furniture to its manufacturing line. The work force increased to more than 120 employees, and in 1959, the building on North Meridian Street was expanded from 16,000 to 66,000 square feet. According to an article in the March 1, 1964 Muncie Star, the key to the company’s success was shipping items “… knocked-down that the retailer or consumer can easily assemble after shipment.” In other words, Douglas-Eaton was using Ikea’s model of shipping unassembled furniture years before that company opened its first store in the United States. Around that time, the company acquired a lumber processing plant in Pontatoc, Mississippi.

The name of the company was changed to Eaton Furniture Company in 1965, and within a few years, moved its entire operation to Pontatoc where it is still in business. While the company is no longer in Eaton, Indiana, it does pay homage to its original location with the name Eaton Custom Seating.

The postcard is from the Delaware County Historical Society Milton Masing Collection.

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08/18/2026

The epic flooding last week pushed the White River to crest at 18.64' on Thursday, the 7th highest crest ever reported and the biggest in 89 years since the Great Flood of 1937.

During the Great Flood of 1913, the best estimate I’ve found was that 6 to 8 inches of rain fell across the upper White River watershed over 72 hours. Last Tuesday, a comparable amount fell in less than a day.

08/17/2026

Animal lover and superintendent of Beech Grove Cemetery, O. W. Crabbs, populated the cemetery with animals during his tenure in the early 1900s. In July 1902, Crabbs ordered a pair of swans from a New York firm and installed them in the lagoon near the cemetery’s office. It was assumed that the pair would multiply and that their progeny would populate the several small lakes in the cemetery. The swans joined a group of six gray squirrels, three fox squirrels, a flying squirrel, and a chipmunk that shared a cage located in the center of the cemetery. One year later, Crabbs procured a pair of Canadian wolves and a red fox to add to his menagerie.

A few months after the wolves took up housekeeping at Beech Grove, they were joined by Bruno the bear and his unnamed mate, a gift to the City of Muncie from Wilbur Alonzo “Lon” Petty, a member of the Beech Grove Cemetery board of trustees. They shared a den, formerly a corn crib, and were purported to be very affectionate and well behaved. The couple was fed a varied diet including cake, bread, and pie in addition to meat and vegetables. Apparently, the duo considered cabbage to be a delicacy and greeted Crabbs with enthusiasm when it was on the menu. By late December 1903, both bears weighed approximately 350 pounds.

Within a few months, Mr. and Mrs. Bruno were too big to remain at the cemetery. A bear pit was dug in McCulloch Park, and the bears were moved there. The Beech Grove wolves joined them. The swans, squirrels, and chipmunk remained at the cemetery. It was noted in the park’s 1904 annual report that the bear pit cost $1,408.33 to build. There was no word on whether or not the bears were content in their new home.

The postcards and photo are from the Mike Mavis and Milton Masing collections.

08/10/2026

In 1917, just four years after the original was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma installed a one-third scale plaster version of the “Appeal to the Great Spirit” in its new sculpture hall. The gift of the senior class of 1923 was a bronze version, replacing the plaster statue. The “Appeal” was a much beloved symbol of the school, and when a new school was built in the mid-1970s, the statue was moved there and given a place of honor.

Fast forward to 1984. Several Central High School alumni announced their intention to raise enough money to have a full scale version made and placed in Tulsa’s Woodward Park. At the time that the announcement was made, the trio had already raised $25,000 of the $60,000 needed to make the statue. Donors who gave $2,000 or more would have their names engraved on the plaque, which would also include the inscription “O Great Spirit at thy call we have pledged our youth.” According to an article in the Tulsa World of Friday, June 29, 1984, the “American Bronzeworks of Tulsa will cast the statue from a mold made from the original work.”

That original work, of course, was the statue in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. If officials at that museum were asked for their permission to make a mold, it apparently was not given. The folks in Tulsa soon came to Muncie to ask to be allowed to make a mold of the statue located at Walnut Street and Granville Avenue. In exchange for permission, the Tulsa foundry would also clean and re-patina the statue. The request went to the Muncie’s Park and Recreation Board, where it was tabled until there could be further research and discussion.

A number of local residents, members of the Ball family, and the Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation Commission opposed the request from the Tulsa. Concern was expressed that making a mold might not only damage the statue but could possibly infringe on copyright. On October 9, 1984, the Park and Recreation Board denied the request. Board members assigned Pat Murray to study how the statue might be cleaned and preserved.

The lack of permission did not deter the good folks of Tulsa. They had raised $100,000 for the statue, and they were going to use it. A mold was made from the bronze statue at Central High School, enlarged to a size greater than the original, cast in bronze, and placed in Woodward Park where it still stands.

The postcard is from the Delaware County Historical Society Milt Masing Collection, the photo of the statue at the school is from Facebook, and the photo of the statue in the park is from the August 19, 2025 edition of the Tulsa World.

08/07/2026

In September 1894, a fight between a paving company and Muncie’s electric trolley company spilled into the streets around Main and Walnut, where workers blocked streetcars with wagons, tore up tracks and even electrified rails to stop work. Police intervened, arresting several railway employees and got electrocuted in the process.

A large crowd of Munsonians gathered to watch the Battle of Walnut Street, they “hallooed and cheered, and for a time, it seemed that pandemonium had broken loose.”

On Sept. 15, 1894, a battle took place in Muncie for control of Walnut Street. Trouble had been brewing for months.

08/03/2026

The story about the dead cows shown in these photos starts in September 1946 with Walter Strong. Strong had deep family roots in Albany. He lived on Strong Road and was the long-time superintendent of Strong cemetery, which was named for his family and located on Strong Road near a bend in the Mississinewa River. Walter Strong attended local public schools and Howe Military Academy. He returned to the Albany area to farm after serving in the Army during World War I. During World War II, he left the farm again to serve in the military. He also worked at Warner Gear and at McCormick Brothers Company in Albany, which is somewhat ironic considering what happened in 1946. Not surprisingly, Mr. Strong is buried in Strong Cemetery.

So, what happened in 1946? In September of that year, several state conservation agents, Delaware County sheriff deputy Ed Rawlings, and Delaware County prosecutor Guy Ogle were called to Strong’s farm to investigate the death of three of his prized shorthorn cows, worth at least $900. The cows perished in Halfway Creek where it entered the Mississinewa River. In addition to the dead cows, five more were ill along with a horse who, according to Strong, was “stiff.”

When Ogle and the conservation agents, led by W. R. Zimmerman of Muncie, arrived at Strong’s farm, they found the shallow creek to be an icky sulfuric green color. Clearly, something had polluted the creek and that something was killing the cattle. Muncie veterinarian Claude Hudson removed the stomach and some milk from the cow that lay nearest the mouth of the stream. Conservation agents took water samples from the stream where the cows were found, above that area and from the river. Everything taken from the cows and from the creek and river were sent to Purdue for analysis.

Deputy Rawlings and Prosecutor Ogle were at the scene because there were criminal statutes covering the willful pollution of streams, creeks, and rivers. Additionally, there were, according to Ogle, “civil rights of injunction and damage under the nuisance laws.”

It was thought that the pollution might have been caused by industrial waste, specifically from McCormick Brothers Company in Albany, which made flour bins and sifters, metal racks for utensils and spices, breadboxes, and bread drawers.

While the officials did their jobs, Walter Strong had little to say. According to the report in the Muncie Evening Press, “He looked grim and went about the business of cleaning up the mess.” Mr. Strong removed the cows, and the samples went to Purdue for testing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any follow-up to this story, although there were many articles in the newspaper of that time about industrial waste polluting the streams. In fact, just two years later, McCormick Brothers had a leak in the metal plating waste tank, which caused thousands of fish to die. So, what killed Mr. Strong’s cows and sickened the horse so quickly? Was it industrial waste or something more nefarious? Was other livestock in the area affected? There has to be more to this story, but so far, I haven’t found anything.

Photos from the Mike Mavis Collection.

To become a member of Delaware County Historical Society and receive The Society Quarterly: The Magazine of Delaware County History, visit https://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/membership.