April 2, 1975, John and Carolyn Shettle, along with Rev. Harold LaMar, are members of the ten-person steering committee responsible for making preliminary plans and preparations for the Orestes Bicentenial warm-up celebration planned for this July 18, 19, and 20. The committee is also interested in having parade units from throughout the area to participate in the festival parade.

April 9, 1975 a meeting was held last week at the Orestes Baptist Church and a vote was held to have a softball league this summer. The league slow-pitch style will have Terry Dwiggins as the president; Dave Miller, vice-president; and Rick Holford as secretary-treasurer.

May 14, 1975, Death of Vernon R. Colvill, 63, Orestes.

July 23, 1975, a crowd estimated at 2,000 enjoyed the colorful 40 unit parade which kicked off the Orestes Oak Tree Festival last Friday evening. The Alexandria-Monroe Marching Band and other units made it an enjoyable well-received parade.

Cakes judged on taste

1st Place Beth Judd
2nd Place Joyzella Hosier
3rd Place Brenda Cooper

Appearance

1st Place Dorothy Granger
2nd Place Jenni Delinger
3rd Place Jackie Himelick

Spelling Bee June Beasley
Hog Calling Ethel Harrison
Greased Pig Chase Robin Nelson
Three legged race Ronnie and Robin Coleman
Sack Race Kevin Hosier

Beard Contest
1st Dale Widner
2nd Steve Roby
3rd Leon Pratt

Mustache
1st Carl Martin
2nd Jack Dwiggins
3rd Gary Almquist

Chops
1st Terry Lewis

Liars Contest Fred King

Ladies Costumes
1st Carolyn Shettle
2nd Twilla Smith
3rd Jessie White

Mens Costumes
1st Steve Southern
2nd Terry Dwiggins
3rd Bud McCord

Teenage Girls
1st Laurie Shettle
2nd Erin Shettle
3rd Penny Eden

Girls under 12
1st Sandy Rosler
2nd Diana LaMar
3rd Denise LaMar

Boys under 12
1st Randy Southern
2nd Todd Berryman
3rd Steven Ryan

Tug of War Men John Shettle Team
Boys Jack Lowe Team

Swim Suit Contest
1st Carrie Mae Daugherty
2nd Susie Nelson
3rd Peggy Gardner

Special Mention Hair-do Beulah Prophet

Other highlights:

Mrs. Jessie White rode in a float sponsored by the Pythian sisters, as the oldest Orestes resident. She was presented a bouquet of flowers and honored as a past member. Jessie was interviewed by Channel 6 from Indianapolis as she modeled her gown during a stage show beneath the historic oak tree.

Sharon Walker, Carrie Mae Daugherty, Hazel Gustin, Jackie Himelick and her daughter and Otto Gaines rode on the Orestes Christian Church float.

Aug 31, 1975, death of Basil Street, 74, of Orestes.

Oct 13, 1975, Israel A. Ryan, 60, Orestes, died after an extended illness.

Nov 12, 1975, an Alexandria bus driver, Keith Sizelove was killed around 2:50 p.m. Nov 6, when the bus he was driving was struck broadside by a Norfolk and Western freight train. Sizelove, 52, was on his way to the Alexandria Junior high to pick up students when the accident occurred. Sizelove drove many of the Orestes students to the Orestes School and Alexandria High School.

Dec 31, 1975, members of the Orestes Christian Church were hosts on Christmas Eve for a community candlelight Service which also included Christmas caroling by the youth. 300 luminaries lit the center of town and stayed lit until midnight.

Jan 21, 1976, the Orestes Bicentennial Committee opened its preparations for the 1976 Oak Tree Festival at a meeting on Saturday January 17, at the Orestes Town Hall. This years festival will be held July 23rd, 24th, and 25th. Kathy Davis will serve as secretary for the 1976 festival along with Carl Martin, parade chairman, David Hess, in charge of the PA system, Lanny Fenters will handle radio and TV publicity, and Dereva Fenters and Vern Horlander, in charge of shaving permits. Others on the committee are Melvin Carey, Volunteer Firemen; Jack Ritchison, Knights of Pythias; Dereva Fenters, Pythian Sisters; Harold LaMar, Christian Church; Garland Dwiggins, Baptist Church; Terry Hobbs and Denise Malicoat, Orestes School; Raymond Davis, Historical Advisor; and Carolyn Shettle, Kathy Davis, and Mark Stevens, members at large.

April 7, 1976, Joe DiRuzza, a young Orestes man was shot in an attempted robbery in Anderson at Broadway and Vineyard at a Village Pantry. DiRuzza was alone in the store when the man came in and shot him as he was complying with the mans demands. He is in the Community Hospital Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.

May 19, 1976, Garth Cone of Pierceton, Indiana is named the new basketball coach at Alexandria-Monroe high School.

June 16, 1976, Laurie Shettle was crowned Miss Orestes.

July 21, 1976, the Second Annual Orestes Oak Tree Festival takes place this weekend.

July 26, 1976A fire causing a million dollars in damage swept through the Rockwool Industries plant in Alexandria.

July 30, 1976, the telephone booth outside the Orestes Post Office was removed today.

Nov 23, 1976, Johnie V. Walker, 66, of Frankton, died of a heart attack while playing golf at the Elwood Country Club.

Jan 10, 1979, the Madison County Landfill just east of Orestes is scheduled for expansion, bringing it within 600 feet of the town city limits. Most Orestes residents vehemently object to what they feel are health hazards created by the presence of the dump.

Jan 25, 1979, firemen fought bitter cold with sub-zero wind chills in bringing the fire at the former site of the J.J. Long Trucking Company at Co Rd. 1025N and 200W near Orestes under control. The fire occurred Jan 25th. The fire broke out about 1:00 p.m. and was fought for over three hours by Alexandria and Frankton firemen. They had to return to the scene again that night after the blaze broke out again.

Mar 20, 1979, Martha E. Boyer, 82, of the Harter house in Anderson died today at St. Johns Hospital in Anderson. She was a native of Terre Haute, moving to Anderson in 1956. She taught school in Alexandria and Orestes and substituted in Anderson Elementary Schools. The was the minister of education at the Central Christian Church in 1957 and 1958.

Mar 24, 1979, Leigh E. Tempest, 75, of Orestes died today at Community Hospital in Anderson. He was a native of Nebraska, Indiana and had lived most of his life in the Orestes area.

April 18, 1979, group calling themselves the Concerned Citizens against Landfill Expansion has organized and hired an attorney, Jeff Lockwood, to fight the proposed Orestes Landfill expansion.

May 6, 1979, Isaac (Ike) DeVore, 60, of Orestes died today at Community hospital in Anderson.

Aug 16, 1979, Gurney G. Scott, 86, died today at his home south of Orestes.

Aug 19, 1979, Hazel (Blake) Grose, 81, of Alexandria died today at the Summit Convalescent Center in Summitville. She was a native of Orestes and had made her home in this area all her life. She was a 69-year-member of the Orestes Baptist Church and belonged to the Alexandria Order of Eastern Star.

Aug 24, 1979, Mary King Judd, 87, Orestes, died today at the Willows Nursing Home in Alexandria. She was a member of the Orestes Christian Church.

Oct 24, 1979, photograph of Orestes Town Hall Demolition on page 1 and the Town Hall about 1938 on page 2.

Orestes residents now have a new vista of their Community Center as the old Town Hall was recently razed. The beautiful Community Center was made a reality by the foresight and dedication of their Board of Trustees, Ralph Pratt, Jack Ritchison and Bennie DiRuzza. The building with modern facilities, has a Council Room, serves the Volunteer Fire Department, houses their fire truck, etc., and the village water utility. The building was started in 1978 and recently completed by the Nancy Construction Company. The tenure of the Town Board including Paul Taylor, clerk-treasurer, was recently assured in their nomination at conventions by the two major parties. The first Town Hall stood near the Lake Erie and Western Railroad Depot at the foot of Main Street, just southwest of the present Red Gold Cannery. The first officials were: Herman F. Willkie, father of Wendell, attorney; John Sweet; J.A. Bowsman; and Samuel McMahan trustees. Marshall McMahan, the father of Alexandrias C.R. McMahan, was treasurer after the incorporation in 1895. The gas boom ended early in the twentieth century with an energy crisis. The natural gas supplies were exhausted and Orestes saw a period of adjustment from a rather thriving little town to a village status. Portions of east Orestes were annexed after the United Window Glass Factory left. On April 17, 1922 a tornado attempted to finish the village. It did finish a nice two-story school building, the Shaw Store Building, the Urmston Grain Elevator, the Davis Cannery and Warehouse and numerous residences. The Knights of Pythias Hall was partially destroyed. However, the village rebuilt. The following year, 1923, two store buildings were built opposite the oak tree and one was constructed into the second Town Hall. One of the buildings was made of building tile from the former Powell Tile Works in west Orestes. One of the old buildings had been used as a shoe shop by an old gentleman named Berry. No one ever knew his full name, just Old Mr. Berry and the kids called him Elder Berry. In 1923 when the Town Council moved to their new building, William R. Shaw was treasurer and the councilmen were Roscoe Young, John Cook Sr., and William Blake. The old Town Hall of some 56 years was the scene of many spirited elections of Old Precinct Four. Ladies of the Baptist Church and Christian Church served warm tasty lunches in the room adjoining the voting booths.

Oct 31, 1979, photograph of the Orestes Oak Tree Indiana Tree of the Year.
The mighty Orestes Oak Tree has been selected by the Indiana Arbor Society as the 1980 Tree of the Year. A special dedication and presentation of the plaque will be made Thursday, Nov. 1st at 1pm. The public is invited to attend and refreshments will be served. The oak, which marked the Indian trails, stood as a guide for early traders and settlers that made their way between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.

by Ray Davis
Perhaps the Adenas were first to this area with earthen mounds and artifacts of stone age culture. Late in the eighteenth century came the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians from the Delaware River region. They found almost unbroken forests of oak, poplar, walnut, elm, ash, hickory, maple, beech, and sycamore. Under these forest giants was a maise of vines and brush. The Delawares located their villages near the springs and river fords and in time they were connected by well beaten trails. Captain Pipe or Hopocan of the Wolf Clan was the war chief and his village was just north of the Pipe Creek ford. Chief Pipe died in 1818 and is believed buried on his creek, near the Stoner Cemetery. The southwestern area of this graveyard was originally an Indian Burial Ground. One Indian trail ran north from this river ford past the big oak tree and on to the Miami's on the Mississinewa. This trail later became the eastern boundary of the Old Miami Reserve. The countless arrow points and spear heads found near the Big Oak led to the Council Oak legend. The New Purchase Treaty caused a majority of the Delawares to leave here. However, there were those intermarried to the Miami's who remained here until the early 1840s. For this reason the local vicinity was settled some twenty years later than the southern part of this county.

In the early 1820s, William Conner, the Indian trader, and James Blake were commissioned by the state to route a trace from the new state capital to Fort Wayne on the Maumee. They found it advantages to follow the Indian trails. Locally, this trace ran north just west of the Big Oak to angle northeast to a prominent Lilly Creek ford. Such early settlers as George Moyer, Nathan Lowry and Leroy Young followed this Fort Wayne Trace to the land office there to enter their claims. It is likely that they made the trip by stage coach as they soon commuted between the two points. Lee Moyer, son of George Moyer mentioned above often told of shooting two wild turkeys from the Oak Tree during the Civil War. He said it was very large, even the railroad came through in 1878 and two local sawmills cut much of the remaining timber into railroad ties. The Big Tree was unsuitable for such purpose and was spared. So, standing stall and alone it became a landmark. It graced the playground of a little red schoolhouse late in the nineteenth century. This school served the little village then known as Lowry Switch.

With the discovery of natural gas as era of prosperity was ushered into this village. The Big Oak became a citizen of incorporated Orestes in 1895. A two-story school building was built about a square and a half northeast and the little red schoolhouse was built to and converted into a corner general store. The first Christian Church building of frame construction was built in 1895 and 1896 just east of the Big Tree. However, after a decade of waste, the gas flambeaux flickered out and with them the industries and most of the glass workers often called boomers.

In April of 1922 a tornado swept through Orestes dealing death and destruction. The Big Oak stood, unharmed, in the very center of the storm. Next morning townsfolk saw the Big Tree, took heart, and began rebuilding. Some three or four inhabitants drew close to the Oak and time did not cease. The Big Oak became the property of the Christian Church. As today it stood between their new brick edifice and manse.

Then the Big Tree began to come into the limelight. Books were written with articles about it, pictures were made of it, and etchings were made. The Madison County Historical Society led by such prominent Andersonians as Elwood Phillips, Gene Bock, Howard Eldon, Russell Davis, Charles and Esther Dittlinger, Helen Baumer, and David Bucove secured and dedicated a bronze plaque to the Oak in 1973. And suddenly the Big Tree was a celebrity. Many came to see it and tourists were attracted by highway markers. Oak Tree Festivals in 1975 and 1976 drew large crowds.

Such tree lovers as Rob Simpson of Nashville, a past president of the state Arbor Society and Ron Hendrickson Gilman, came to see the Big Tree. Due to their efforts and others the State Arborists are making it the 1980 Tree of the Year. This decision was based largely on historical merit. The Orestes Oak is not the oldest white oak in Indiana nor is it the largest.

On Thursday, November the 1st, at 1:00p.m., the State Arbor Society will dedicate a beautiful plaque to the tree. The Church Board of Trustees, James Cooper, Howard Gregg, Wallace Dellinger, and Carl Martin, Chairman gave approval for the dedication. The public is invited and refreshments will follow in the church basement.

The Big Oak has been pampered and groomed for this event. The Asplundh Tree Expert Company of Marion removed all the dead limbs and gave it vitamins by the way of the root system.



Nov 7, 1979, the Orestes Oak, long a landmark, from the time when Indian tribes used it to mark their trails, was officially named Indianas 1980 Tree of the Year at a special dedication held Thursday. Among the dignitaries appearing for the dedication were Robert Simpson of Nashville, past president of the Indiana Arbor Society and chairman of the tree dedication committee, Richard Crum of Indianapolis, executive secretary of the Indiana Arbor Society, John dulling of Muncie, past president of the International Society of Arboriculture and past president of the state and national societies. Representatives from Indiana and Michigan, who trimmed and fed the tree vitamins prior to the dedication, were also present. They were from Fort Wayne, Marion, and Indianapolis. One guest, Ernest Maple of Englewood, Florida traveled to Orestes for the occasion. Duling is also chairman of the International Society of Arboricultures Trust, a group that finances research all over the world in the field of Arboriculture.

Dec 6, 1979, Gladys Abernathy, 82, died at Bradford Nursing Home today. She was a native of Osceola and lived her entire life in the Orestes and Alexandria area.

Dec 12, 1979Two underground explosions and three fountains of red flame erupted at the Madison County Landfill near Orestes today when a bulldozer operator began uncovering a portion of the area dumped in the same morning. Officials contacted the Fort Benjamin Harrison bomb squad, engineers and chemists at Delco Remy and Guide divisions in Anderson, the hazardous waste division of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, the National Guard and the Army Reserve. Although none of these agents could identify the canisters or liquid, all agreed that they were dangerous. By checking the log of firms dumping at the landfill, Gerald Thomas, superintendent confirmed the material had come from loads either from Bucks Refuse or Guide Division.

June 1, 1982, a security bar was installed in the north lobby window at the Orestes Post Office.

July, 26, 1983, the gasoline and service station built by Lawrence "Dumps" Shaw and formerly owned by Ben Roby and Robert Blake was torn down today.

Aug 9, 1984, Ruth Dwiggins, 70, Orestes, died today at St. Johns Medical Center after an extended illness. A native of Elwood, she had resided in Orestes most of her life. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Alexandria.

July 12, 1987, the Orestes Volunteer Fire Department purposely burned the former Vern Horlander residence as a training exercise. The home was located at the northeast corner of Ontario and Oak Street.

June 8, 1988, work started today replacing the handicap ramp built at the Orestes Post Office in 1979.