The Star Press from Muncie, Indiana • Page 45

cSrl I The Muncie Star I MUNCIE, INDIANA, SUNDAY, jULY 4, 1965 Muncie in the Twentieth Centu rv: An Auto Town Growing 0 Still Up! li wf'l II 1 J.j In 1913, the original Inter-state Automobile Company went into receivership and was re-formed under the name of Interstate Motor Company. The plant was in production until World War I was declared. The firm was awarded government contracts to build tractors during the war. After the armistice was signed, the plant was not retooled for automobile production and the board of directors decided to sell out. A deal was made with General Motors with William Durant representing GMC.

William C. Durant, a skyrocketing speculator who organized General Motors and then lost it all, turned out a variety of automobiles from the West Willard Street plant, among which were the Princeton, Sheridan, Durant and a tiny Ford-like machine called "The Star Car." A SENSATION of the early 1920s, the Star was inexpensive and lightweight like the Ford, but it beat the Model by having a selective-sliding transmission. The best-remembered car from the Durant stable was the Durant itself. Cars bearing the Durant emblem were entered in three Indianapolis Turn to Page B-8 This plan was followed by Maring, Hart and the five Ball brothers George Frank William Edmund F. and Dr.

Lucius L. A two building plant was constructed in 1908 for the manufacture of automobiles under the name Interstate Automobile Company. The site was three city blocks long at the west end of Willard Street, property now occupied by Delco Battery, a division of General Motors. The first car came off the line in 1909. The last was manufactured in 1917.

The first cars were powered by four-cyclinder L-head engines. In 1911, a four cylinder T-head and a six cylinder L-head were introduced. The latter was known as Model 45, one of the most efficient engines of its time. The 1913-14 cars were four-cylinder valve-in-head powered and were known as the Model T. Popular stories credit the Model name to a plant manager, Benjamin W.

Twyman. It is said the Model name was adopted by taking the first initial of his last name. ABOUT 10,000 of the Model machines, each of which sold for between $700 and "$800, were produced before World War I called a halt to production. General Motors, one of many units that go together to form the world's largest business corporation, produces batteries for the entire General Motors line of passenger cars and trucks. The automotive future of Muncie can be measured best by the skyrocketing sales of automobiles all across the country.

Muncie's role in the production of automobiles is a vital one one that is not likely to grow smaller in future years. But where did all this start? Muncie's first automobile manufacturing plant was established in 1908, prior to the Chamber of Commerce organization through the efforts of the Commercial Club of Muncie. A committee including G. A. Ball, J.

M. Marling, Tom Hart and C. E. WhitehiU was named to seek out and encourage an auto manufacturer to move to this city. SEVERAL WERE contacted and at one time it was thought the firm which manufactured the Maxwell would come to Muncie, but this effort was abandoned when the company selected New Castle as its manufacturing site.

Fearing that their efforts would bear no fruit along this line, the committee decided to build a plant of its own and manufacture automobiles. en during 1964, plus money spent for materials and sun-plies (including utility services) with firms located within a 20-mile radius of Muncie. Employment at Warner Gear has been as high as 4,500 in recent years. Chevrolet-Muncie has been put on the map in the last year or so due to the popular "Muncie" transmissions manufactured at the West Eighth Street plant. The transmission is a four-speed floor shift unit used in GMC's high-performance sedans and it is rated as one of the best four-speed unit? ever made.

According to Car and Driver magazine, the "Muncie" transmission has one of the lightest, most positive linkages ever designed and near perfect ratios. AUTOMATIC transmissons for almost any type of vehicle are manufactured at Warner Gear Division, Borg-Warner Corp. Borg-Warner automatics are found in passenger cars, trucks, p-type vehicles and boats of all sizes. "Velvet Drive" marine transmissions are used extensively by patrol boats of the Navy and Coast Guard. Altogether, the transmission production of Warner Gear Division, makes it the largest independent manufacturer of transmissions in the world.

Delco Battery Division of By RON LEMASTERS Muncie, like most Indiana cities, has been for the past 60 or 70 years an "auto town." With the turn of the century came the auto boom and Muncie was right in the midst of it. IN MANY TOWNS, only memories exist where automobiles were built. This is not the case in Muncie, Indiana. Granted, the situation has changed from the hit-and-miss backyard car-building to one of specialization with General Motors and Borg-Warner Corporation having large and important plants here. General Motors moved in to take over buildings occupied by other factions of the auto industry; Borg-Warner got its start in Muncie as Warner Gear Company.

Delco Battery and Chevro-let-Muncie divisions of GMC" contribute greatly to the economy of Muncie and Delaware County. During 1964, the two divisions pumped a total of $700,000 into the local econ-my every week! Total payroll and local supplier purchases hit an all-time high for the 12-month period of $35,248,029. This figure includes the annual payroll for an average employment of 3,270 men and wom THE LATEST MODEL Durant Motors built this Star a i I in the 1920s. The picture was taken in 1923 in front of the Durant factory here which is. now part of Delco Battery Division of General Motors.

The Star, perhaps named for The Muncie Star, was one of the finest cars of its day. 1 STRY AND TVTTTh 11 1 4 4 CORNERSTONES OF A CITY'S PROGRES; rothers Found Home Here BaiTB First Newspaper Printed Here Was the Mimcieloniaii failures in Muncie and the community escaped the full impact of economic uplicav- THE PHYSICAL contributions of the family were all philanthropic projects the brothers had envisioned together. They touched most aspects of the Muncie community's educational, health, recreation and social needs. titrtt tit-1 tw-n thU- V. new mm.

to dry 'up, industries by the score moved out of Muncie. But the Ball brothers were convinced there was a good future here and chose to stay. Later, during the depression, the owners of .1 1 1 Brothers personally guarun-teed the deposits of Muncie banks in the wake of hysteria all over the nation. There turned out to be no bank t- Ii hum's me, but the men were all courteous, kind and businesslike." (Ball's assessment of the townspeople's personality is believed to be the basic reason for the decision to locate in Muncie and why it became the brothers' lifelong home.) In his memoirs, he relates that the Citizens Committee agreed to donate $5,000 for the location of the plant in Muncie. Seven acres of land were also donated for the plant.

CONSTRUCTION of the new factoy began in 1887 with the first glass jars produced in 1888. Old records show 125 persons were employed, drawing a weekly payroll of $1,200. The famed canning jar was the major product of the new plant. Although competition from other nearby glass factories was fierce, Ball Brothers was the only organization with the semblance of a sales force. They were the first to put their own name on the product and the name soom became identified with quality and reliability, leading eventually to their domination of the market.

Through the years, several outstanding advances in the way of automated equipment for glass making were developed in the Muncie plant. George Ball once was quoted as saying the advances came from "collective ideas" of the brothers. "We'd sit down together, talk the problem out, call in technical advisers and ultimately we'd have a new glass blowing machine," Ball said. ufacture Mason style glass jars for home canning purposes. But another fire in 1886 destroyed their little factory in Buffalo and the brothers began to look for a new location.

They had heard about cheap and plentiful fuel in the fast growing midwest gas belt and were determined to explore the possibilities. THEIR YOUNG PRESIDENT, Frank C. Ball, paid several visits to such booming towns as Fostoria, Find-lay and Bowling Green in Ohio, and then heard about Muncie. He found a free weekend in. his schedule and decided to take a somewhat disinterested look in the Indiana community of around 6,000 people.

In Frank C. Ball's personal memoirs published in 1937, he describes his visit: "Arriving in Muncie I rode to the Kirby House in the village bus (by the way, the only bus in town) and registered On going over to the Citizens Committee headquarters I met Mr. James Boyce and a few other gentlemen. They called members of the committee and took me in their surrey for a drive. "We drove through the country where the suburbs of Whiteiey, Boyceton, Industry, Congerville, Avondale and Normal City are now located.

The county seemed to be very good farming land, but a long ways from town. Several gas we'Js were turned on and as far as I could see they were just as good as the Ohio wells, with the exception of some of the giant wells of Findlay There was nothing about the town that particularly appealed to A 1 I partisanry because political sentiment and discussion engaged the daily activities of the people," Dr. Kemper wrote. It lasted from Aug. 8, 1843 to October 7, 1843.

THE DELAWARE County Democrat appeared three days after the Yeoman ceased publication. It was an avowed advocate of Jeffer-sonian democracy" and for two years or more it was the only newspaper in the county. The last issue was dated Dec. 29, 1845. Isaac Norris, editor had been succeeded by Joseph S.

Buckles. "The name 'Muncietonian ceases to be used in the dateline of the Democrat and the name 'Muncie' substituted on May 24, 1843," according to Haimbaugh. It was followed closely by the Muncie Journal, which lasted from Jan. 10, 1846 to May 22, 1847. Warren H.

Withers, editor, later became editor of the Fort Wayne Times, a lawyer and judge of the Circuit Court. "The name 'Muncietown was by legislative enactment and post office regulation simplified to mere Muncie," Haimbaugh wrote, thus explaining why it was called the Muncie Journal. The Indiana Signal, seventh on record in the county, appeared early in 1848 "when politics became lively with the opening of the Taylor campaign for the presidency." It was started by John C. Osburn. He died Jan.

23, 1850 and the property was sold to Esta brook and Jones. They revived the name, "Muncietonian," and it was published February 2 to Dec. 31, 1850 "independent on men and measures by advocating Republican "There was a good deal of 'give and take' in the newspapers of an older day," Haimbaugh's history comments. PUBLIC LIBRARY files "indicate a lapse of 25 years of which the newspaper record has not been kept," according to the Kemper history. The Whig Banner was last to uphold Whig principles, continuing from 1851 through the presidential campaign of 1852.

The Muncia Messenger probably was its successor in the field. It was published by the Rev. J. B. Birt and son, James.

R. S. Turn to Page B-I By LARRY SHORES What would the 20th century American housewife ever have done without Ball Brothers' Mason Jars? For that matter, what would 20th century Muncie have done without the pres' ence of the Ball Brothers? Their dual effect on the glass making industry and on the city of Muncie is a success saga probably unparalled by anyone, anywhere. It was just 77 years ago on March 1, 1888 that the first glass container ever made in Muncie was formed. The story of how the brothers came to locate their plant here is one of luck, coincidence and foresight.

In 1880, two of the brothers Edmund B. and Frank C. had borrowed $200 from a preacher uncle, bought a small business and set up shop in the loft of a building in Buffalo, N.Y. Their undertaking was the manufacture of wood-jacketed cans used in the shipping of paints, varnishes and oil. A devastating fire a few months later put them out of business temporarily.

They soon refinanced and were joined by their other three brothers, Lucius, William and George, who had stayed with their recently widowed mother in Canandai-gua, N. to help settle up affairs. The firm name was soon changed to "Ball Brothers" and in 1882 they decided to go into the business of glass making after discovering that John Mason's patent for a screw finish type jar for home canning had expired. Recognizing the potential market for such a product was growing by leaps and bounds, they decided to man I1 50" awmmm The company grew up with Muncie, but became nationally known for its many products in other lines also. THE BROTHERS continued to acquire other plants and build new factories of their own in locations across the nation.

Diversification was the key word and this meant expansion into the fields of zinc needed to make zinc fruit jar caps, corrugated containers for shipping, molded plastics and the, most exciting and glamorous venture the Ball Brothers Research Corp. with laboratories in Boulder, Col. In cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Colorado research corporation is actively engaged tn scientific instrumentation, communications and aerospace technology. "From Fruit Jars to Satellites," could aptly be termed the real title of the Ball Brothers story. It once prompted Edmund F.

Ball, current chairman of the board and president at Ball Bros, in Muncie, to comment: "Our diversification is such that it is entirely possible when the first man sets foot on the Moon he will have been guided there by the utilization of some product or concept of our space research and development group located at Boulder, Colo." But what of the Ball contributions to the Muncie community? There have been several occasions when the brothers and their comoany exercised a great stabilizing influence on their chosen hometown. Many years ago when the supply of natural gas began Ball, Edmund B. Ball and PUHCIE, irJOBArJA, Coiiistm2 oJ' Hickory and Oak Split Mtm ChaiivCdiforaia and Boston EOCKERS, BUREAUS SOFAS, SAFES WASH STAND. CENTRE TABLES AND MARBLE TOP STANDS, Esuionjainin? -and Breakfast CHUDRENTS CRIBS, CAKS AND CHAIRS. it.

watwawh ha aJ ltwvt MA -mm WAwk 1M UK 1h4i VS. and tbr I fttv niJ rmstr- ADKtNSJt. SNYDER. i Century-Old Poster By JOHN O. FERRIS Editor.

The Muncie Star Delaware County's newspaper history dates back 128 years when the first issue of the Muncietonian came off the hand-powered press "in a double two-story log building where, in after years, the brewery stood on Ohio Avenue near the cemetery." Dr. G. W. H. Kemper thus described the location in his authoritative history of the county.

David Ghar-key and James White were the publishers but they were doomed to an early failure. There were "only three or four issues," according to the historian. The first is thought to have been printed in May 1837. No copy was preserved for the archives. The second issue according ti the paper's folio was dated June 15, J837 and it was the only copy in existence when the history was published.

BIBLIOGRAPHERS have been unable to determine factually whether it was a weekly, semi monthly or monthly publication. Its first issue came 10 years after the county was formed. Until then the county pioneers had three newspapers available two from Wayne County from which the bulk of the migration came into Delaware County from 1820 to 1831, and one at Indianapolis. John S. Carver was publisher of the county's No.

2 paper, the Muncietown Telegraph. It was a "staunch advocate of Whig principles, then triumphant under the Harrison administration," Dr. Kemper wrote. It was issued from March 13, 1841 to March 19, 1842 when it was sold to Joseph G. Jones.

"Not to instruct the learned, but simply to inform the body of people," was the paper's motto according to Frank D. Haimbaugh's history of the county. Jones moved the plant from "the old double log building put up by Gharkey" to a room in a frame building on the north side of Main Street, east of Walnut. He changed the paper's name to Village Herald but the publication lasted only eight months. The plant was destroyed by fire on Nov.

5, 1842. Then Levi Hunter and Oba-diah Coffeen established the Muncietonian Yoeman which reflected "a more strenuous mum i i.i i ui TTT7 tJ "Xl 7f --'5 uf "-WV a. 1 j-ju The fine print at the bottom of the broadside reproduced above reads: "Muncie, April 8th, 1863." THIS CENTURY-OLD souvenir is owned by Marion L. Proctor, 1619 W. Ninth a collector of memorabilia of the kind.

The poster advertised the opening of a furniture store by Adkins Snyder In Mark Waiting's new building, west side of the public square. THE FINE PRINT, perhaps not completely legible in this reproduction, reads that "a fine assortment of mahogany, rosewood, oak and walnut furniture" might be found in the store. In their final message Adkins Taylor assured their tive customers: "We will keep constantly on hand Tucker's Springs, Bed and Lounge Mattresses, Counter and Desk Stools, Mirrors and Looking-glasses, Oil Cloth Table Spreads, and in fact everything in the Upholstery and Furniture Line, which we will sell at PRICES that defy competition. Call and examine." Muncie had achieved the status of an incorporated city less than three months prior to the time the partners announced their opening. WALLING'S HALL was the scene of a variety of events, Including high school commencements.

The building is being razed and may be demolished by the time these words reach the printed page. Its age is not known. ftfiffciiiiii i 1 'r i iiitu if ifii I'lftitfu'rrniTrri'iVituh'affri imnirr'i uTfif wrr'r ritf i iwffrhf ri iiwifnlrniYrr in ift 1 Lucius Ball, Frank C. William C. Ball.

FIVE BALL BROTHERS who made a world' famous name for themselves and a world-wide reputation for Muncie were, left to right, C. A. Ball, Dr..