Coatesville; Part 7

The pillar to the community when I was growing up was Joe Davidson.  Joseph H. Davidson was the son of James and Ellen Davidson of Coatesville. At an early age Joe was a carpenter by trade. His father owned the general store in Coatesville back in the early 1900s.  His brother Frank was a public school teacher even before Joe was, quite a respectable profession! I remember that Joe told me that he went to Central Normal College in Danville. Here are the years that he was a student:

Davidson Joe Hendricks County, Indiana 1912-1913 General List
Davidson Joe H. Hendricks County, Indiana 1904-1905 General List
Davidson Joe H. Hendricks County, Indiana 1906-1907 General List
Davidson Joe H. Hendricks County, Indiana 1912 High School Course - Graduate
Davidson Joe H. Hendricks County, Indiana 1918-1919 General List
Davidson Joe Harris Hendricks County, Indiana 1919 Standard Normal Course - Graduate
(Students of Central Normal College, Danville, Indiana; 1877-1934; Index © Meredith Thompson)

Joe was born in 1886 and married Mabel Artie Ruark October 22, 1916 in Putnam County, Indiana.

It was Mabel's brother, Lewis Clyde Ruark who lived in the Gibson home before my family according to Annie Johnson. Mabel and Clyde were children of Gilbert Ruark and Allie Walton of Fillmore, Indiana.  Peter Ruark and his wife moved circa 1831 to Marion County, Indiana then to Putnam County. This vicinity was a popular place for migrations from Kentucky.

More on Joe shortly, but let's look at Mabel for just a bit. In the 1920-1 school year Mabel taught Domestic Science in District No. 4 at New Winchester, Indiana. By then she and Joe would have been married 4 years. This is the same school at which Joe's brother S. Frank had taught in 1905-6 and 1909-10 school years, and it would seem that Frank laid the groundwork for Mable and Joe to teach there. Joe H. Davidson was principle of New Winchester School in 1913-1914 over his brother Frank who had taught as early as 1910, but as late as 1923-4 he was teaching English, History and Biology, perhaps as well as being principle. Mabel added to her teaching duties that same year: music and art. In 1920-1 Joe taught history. In 1922-3 Mabel was the music teacher. (History of Schools, Marion Township, Hendricks County, Indiana; Printed 1970).

"She (Mable Ruark) married her teacher, after graduating at 18 and going to school at DePauw University in Greencastle. Shewas 20 in 1916 when she married my Dad, Joe Davidson, who happened to be her senior teacher at Fillmore where he taught school after graduating from Central Normal College in Danville, along with his brother, Frank Davidson. Frank went on to become a Professor of English and Literature at Indiana University for over 60 years. He named Ballentine Hall on the campus there when it was built. He was given a permanent office at the University for the rest of his life after he retired." (Annie Johnson, "If you grew up in Coatesville" Facebook Group; parenthesis mine).

It appears that Mabel pursued further studies at Central Normal College in Danville as well. She is listed as a student there several years:

Davidson Mabel Hendricks County, Indiana 1917-1918 General List
Davidson Mabel Putnam County, Indiana 1917-1918 Public Music Supervisor
Davidson Mabel Putnam County, Indiana 1918-1919 Harmony
Davidson Mabel Putnam County, Indiana 1918-1919 Voice
Davidson Mable Putnam County, Indiana 1918 Music Supervisor - Graduate
Davidson Mable Hendricks County, Indiana 1918-1919 General List
Davidson Mable Hendricks County, Indiana 1922-1923 General List
Davidson Mable Coatesville, Indiana 1934-1935 General List
(Students of Central Normal College, Danville, Indiana; 1877-1934; Index © Meredith Thompson)

I stand corrected on an earlier statement in a previous part. It is changed from "I never knew a Democrat" to "I never knew that I knew a Democrat", because Mabel Davidson was the President of the Hendricks County Democratic Women's Organization in 1968 (The Daily Banner; May 22, 1968). That was the same year that Hubert Humphrey won the nomination at a brokered convention and the same year the Progressive Party joined with the Democratic Party forming what's there now.

Memories of the political parties for us Coatesville citizens wasn't a big issue because at that time both parties were of the same fabric. In George Wallace's words, "There is not a dime's worth of difference..." because although the Davidsons and the Herrins were of the same fabric, we voted differently.  We had the same needs which required attention and both parties provided like attention. There were no far out "wings" at that time, and what is considered to be conservative now, for the most part was the norm then in this small community. We never knew each others politics. Most people were just good neighbors.

There were socialists in those days, but the bulwark of activity for them was the urban areas where labor was strong and areas where those from Appalachia had a dependence on the New Deal, Fair Deal Programs and The Great Society programs. Whereas, "Elston Herrin is the most radical man that I ever met!" according to Mrs. Beulah Shipley who taught at Cascade, his "radicalism" at that time was the norm outside of academia. Dad was pretty well mainstream just as were the Davidsons of the opposite political party. You see friends can coexist, even with different ideas for the same problems! Herrins were Republicans; Davidsons were Democrats; they were friends. So simple!

It's the piracy of the Progressive Party USA which hijacked the Democratic Party from the Democrats. It's the split now which has divided the nation and the Coatesville of the 1960s was never the same. I can see from those that I know, that "dead little Coatesville" has changed!

Don Wood took issue with me calling Coatesville "A dead little town." I can see why if it is taken out of context, and I can agree! From a population standpoint Coatesville failed to grow! Many came, but more went away. Many died, but those who multiplied did so only to keep up with attrition. Mr. Wood correctly points out that there was much to do in Coatesville in our time. He is so right because we were happy not knowing what we failed to have! "We listened to the corn grow!" may seem that the town was dead, but corn growing can be heard, and most of us had gardens or farms and could hear on hot summer nights in the humidity, corn growing!

In most places today if kids have games to play, stereos for music, television for the visual and fast food to get fat on, they are happy campers. Obesity among the young is a tell-tale sign that things have changed! We all worked hard and played hard, just as Mr. Wood offered.  People were always out of doors. I knew few families, none that I remember, who had central air conditioning, but a few may have had window units. Air conditioning is a blessing, but also a curse! It refreshes us when Hoosier humidity is unbearable, but it makes couch potatoes out of some who should be more than that.

1950s Coatesville teens normally had no air conditioning, often slept upstairs where the devil must have built his fires, had no stereo and few had television "sets" as they were called. Perhaps the T.V. was one-half the set and us the other half!  This was the "Pre-technology era" advertised today because the space age had yet to influence rural Coatesville. Even the hippies of the '60s didn't arrive in our town until the '70s! (Herrins wore torn jeans before tears in jeans were chic!)

With the official goal set in 1962 of a space program by John F. Kennedy, things changed quickly! In 1969, as I was a freshman in college, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon! "It's one small step for man, but one large step for mankind!" said Armstrong, but that was a vast understatement!  Almost all the technology we have today, compared to then, was due to the space program!

In the early 1950s Dad and I would sit by his short-wave radio and listen to the Russian Sputnik in orbit. The sound was merely a bleep-bleep-bleep signal keeping technicians on earth aware of it's technological health, but we entertained ourselves at length with all those bleeps, just as school children do today at the bleeps where filth on the media is censored to keep young ears young! Yes, even bleeps have changed in Coatesville!

I remember telling Dad when photos came back from the moon "Those are just signals made into pictures. We aren't seeing real things. They have just been constructed." In essence the one who would be an engineer, like most people, didn't know nor understand what we were seeing! Now, even two-year-olds know that digital images represent planar images perfectly and that what they are seeing is real! In fact even 3-D images are represented quite well from a visual aspect and holography can fool even the wisest. This growth happened suddenly from 1962 for a purpose! It was for America to lead in space, but thereafter we lead in everything!

The  most prosperous years in Coatesville was between the 1962 until 1973 when the recession hit hard! There are many reasons for that and Coatesville wasn't exempt!

Things change! We are no longer a product of gradual growth, but economic boom! We heard the warplanes of the Cold War in Coatesville in the 1950s. They flew low and had several bombs. They scared us kids and the booms as they broke the sound barrier were frightening. The doomsday clock was set at 5 'til midnight and Coatesville felt that fear. The boom of planes was a constant reminder, but the boom of prosperity helped us cope!

No, Joe Davidson was not forgotten! Let's take a look at Joe for awhile. He was the principle at Coatesville when I was there in the late 1950s. I never had his teaching from books nor the paddle! In fact Joe was a gentle giant.  He was a lean man of six feet and intellectually prolific. His manner was pleasant, he was amiable, but could be stern with a sly smile. He was likely more strict with "Lois Ann" than he was with us because that's the way things are in families.

Joe Davidson at 30 (Courtesy Annie Johnson)

Joe knew his history, having taught it! His Brief History of Coatesville, Indiana is representative of his knowledge and intellect, but not his creativity. In person he made history come alive! Although he was never my school teacher, he was my life teacher. I've sat and listened to how things were in his long life, but never thought to record what he told me. For that lack of forethought, I recorded my own parents for three hours when they were both alive and with all their faculties. I wish that I had done that for Joe Davidson. That's one reason why I'm writing about Coatesville! If it ever ends up a shuttered forgotten small town as many have before, at least a knowledge of the people will be remembered!  It's the realization that it CAN HAPPEN that will allow the citizens to let it NEVER HAPPEN!

What is written about Joseph H. Davidson is just a small mention of who he was! He was on the publication committee of the Hendricks County Historical Bulletin in 1974 and was a member of the historical society. Wherever the past was there, so too was Joe Davidson. He was a historian exemplary!

In 1918 Joe was teaching in Putnam County, at Fillmore where Mabel was reared. I should have remembered this, but Joe Davidson and I shared the same birthday, February 15; 63 years apart! We laughed at that several times! Below in Figures #8 and #9 can be seen a copy of Joseph Harris Davidson's WWI and WWI draft registrations.

Figure #8: Joseph Davidson WWI Draft Registration 1918

Figure #9: Joe Harris Davidson WWII Draft Registration 1942

I find no military service for Mr. Davidson. Perhaps it was because he was a teacher.

Joseph Harris Davidson was born February 15, 1886 and died in 1982. His earthly presence is in two places: Coatesville Cemetery  and the memories of Coatesvillans.

Much more of Joe's personality and contact with 1960s residents of Coatesville can be found on the pages of the Greencastle Daily Banner  to which Joe was the Coatesville Correspondent.

I have few memories to share of the man. He was just a pleasant individual. Although authoritarian to outsiders, it would seem that Mabel was the dominant figure in the household. Although he was firm, she was stern. She had a ready smile, but an intense demeanor. Hopefully, without fear of offending, I can offer some evidence of her frugality!

Of course my first work was in the tomato fields of Johnson County, but during the summertime Mabel would hire me to edge her walks and weed her flower beds. In those days we didn't have edgers nor poison to aid in our work. Pulling weeds was all by perseverance and brute force by tugging until the knuckles turned purple. Our pay was 25 cents and hour. To put this in perspective with inflation at 10 times, that's $2.50 in today's wages. Compare that to Indiana minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. That's for teenage fast food service! I was making very little, but I had a job and Mabel provided it! She was the epitome of frugality!

Of course I was happy to work. Kids were then. We didn't compare what others were making and complain. We were merely thankful for the opportunity to work! We learned early that hard work provides things which are wanted and without the hard work, in those days, poor people didn't have extra things! Mabel instilled in me the work ethic. She paid sub-par wages, but I had a choice. I could work and have spending money or I could not work and not have it! It was that simple because in those days people didn't give able-bodied males anything and there was no "leveling field"!

I found that although Mabel's money would buy sweet things, just like Billie Jamison at a young age, I opened my own savings account. Billy Lydick at Coatesville Bank oftentimes handled this 12-year old boy's savings account himself. I believe that he was a teller at that time and later became bank president.

At that time we got a passbook. Ours was blue. When a deposit was made, the teller would record the transaction and the same when a withdrawal was made. Providing I left it in there for a sufficient time, I would get "free money". I learned that there were two ways to make money: 1) work for it, or 2) let it work for you! This notion was ingrained to me early on thanks to those who gave me work when I was young. Although Mable was tight with her money, I'm tight with mine still! Thanks, Mabel.  In fact if a bag of cookies cost 25 cents more than I think they're worth I won't buy them. Thank you Mabel for my own frugality!

However, Mabel was one step beyond frugal. I don't intend to hurt feelings of living family and friends, but Dale and I took care of her pekingese dog and cat for over a week while they were on vacation. Twice a day we went to the Davidsons, and fed their pets. When they returned we went over and Mabel gave us a quarter. She said "Here's a quarter. You can decide who gets the extra penny." That was just Mabel! We fail to remember that those who suffered hardships in the great depression thought this way. "Buddy, can you spare a dime?" was to them like "hello" is to us. People hurt and they learned to pinch pennies to survive. That's surely where Mabel got her fiscal conservatism.

That's Mabel and that was many of this era! She was tight, but remember, as one reads this, Mabel treated all of us well. She was mom's friend when Appalachian speaking women wasn't that common in Indiana. The Davidsons were solid loving neighbors. I used them for references as my life progressed; when I applied for scholarships, employment and college; they were always my references.

Mabel Davidson (center front) Fillmore High School (courtesy of Annie Johnson)

I disappointed them greatly on one occasion. I never was a "drinker". However, someone, when we were seniors the week before graduation, brought a bottle of whisky to school. I tasted it. That's all!  However, when the first  person was caught we all got in trouble. It was threatened by the principle I.E. Lewis, that none of us would get our diploma. We all did! Because of this incident I lost my National Honor Society Scholarship, a token amount, to which Joe and Mable had been my reference. Mable said that they were going to withdraw my recommendation and maybe they did. They were so disappointed in me!

A book could be written on the Davidson's. I'll let their daughter do that!  As a child I never knew Lois Ann "Annie" personally, but I told her recently that she was a legend in her own time! College was not even a dream for Herrins, but Annie was away at college. She was a bragging right to her parents and brag they did. We knew that Annie was somewhat independent and she has since confirmed it! Perhaps she too will write her own story.