Snakes, Scars And The King Of Pop

Pat Smith

Beginning next week I’ll share the story of old Rossburg – the village, the church and the cemetery. When I started the series of the symbolism on memorials in Decatur County the old cemetery at Rossburg was the first one I visited because of a most unusual headstone there. I haven’t seen a picture of the church but a reader has one. I’ll continue writing stories of Decatur County veterans soon but since Bill Ford’s death I haven’t been in the mood for it. I hope, however, to return to that in a couple of weeks.

You probably saw the story in Monday’s Daily News about the man who got snake bit several times when snakes fell on him from a tree. The kind that slithers about on the ground bites too. Denver Sullivan was helping pick up sticks in the Sullivan yard in Osgood when he picked up what looked like a stick. It was a snake that took exception to being classified as a stick. After it bit Denver, the snake didn’t run off so the family put it in a box, still alive, and headed for the emergency room. It wasn’t poisonous but Denver said the bite was painful and he has bite marks that will leave some unusual scars. He refuses to pick up any more sticks.

Russell Wilhoit sent a great website where you can become a fan of the Indiana Historical Society. I checked it out and found something you might find interesting if you have seen or plan to see Johnny Depp’s new movie about John Dillinger and other public enemies of the 1930s. On this site is a copy of Dillinger’s wanted poster. It’s from 1934, has his photo and whatever else the police might need to catch him. He was 31 years old, 5 foot 7 and 1/8 inches, weighed 153 pounds and had medium chestnut hair. His eyes were grey, a medium complexion and his occupation was listed as a machinist. Under “marks and scars,” he had a one half inch scar on the back of his left hand, a scar on his middle upper lip and a brown mole between his eyebrows. The copy lists all the places that he had been jailed, when he was arrested, when he escaped (he was pretty good at that.) The site is http://www.facebook.com/n/?pages/Indianapolis-IN/Indiana-Historical Society/27298296864∣=ae2d5dG4e6c45a5G9c20e6G4c

Here is another site that you should check out. It has the most wonderful picture of our square and tower. At that site you can become a friend of downtown Greensburg.  http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.downtowngreensburg.com"

We surely learned during the Sesquicentennial that we have many truly talented people living in our county. Alice Rust outdid herself with the quilt show at the Baptist Church and Karen Fenley gave those of us who helped a basket that she had made herself. It has the logo of the 150th on the front and is signed by Karen on the bottom. Thank you Karen.

Tyler Bass and his family live in Colorado. His wife works in the rate department of the electric company for all of Denver, and Tyler is working at CIGNA, a healthcare company. “We LOVE it out here,” he said. “Great people, weather, and tons of outdoor activities.”

His mother Sue Ann Lee said it best and in the fewest words about Michael Jackson’s death – as usual, the talking heads are going crazy about it before knowing any real facts about it. Sue Ann said when hearing Jackson perform Billie Jean for the first time, “It was so obviously something truly incredible. Five minutes of perfectly executed talent – sheer genius.”

As for Michael Jackson’s private life - according to “experts” he was guilty of everything he was accused of. Call me simple but I remember the Duke University scandal when someone accused three young men of a crime and nearly everybody, including many professors at Duke, jumped on the bandwagon to convict them. I remember the Kelly Michaels case in New Jersey, the Amirault family case in Mass. and the McMartin preschool case in California. (Read “No Crueler Tyrannies,” by Dorothy Rabinowitz, if you’re unfamiliar with those cases.) And then there’s the lynching of a man here in Greensburg. A jury found him not guilty but a few people took exception to that and lynched him anyhow. (Read the last story in “Memories of Greensburg” if you aren’t familiar with that event.) Because of those true stories, I give Jackson the benefit of the doubt.

And speaking of “Memories of Greensburg,” I’ll be at the Museum on N. Franklin after the Fourth of July parade to sign the book. It would be mighty nice to see lots of people I see frequently, those I haven’t seen in a long time and those I’ve yet to meet.

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